Oskar Osäker: True Omnivore
by Legionary
Summary: Not all of Alex Mercer's "Evolved" were loyal psychopaths. Some were simply desperate people who Alex thought he could easilly control once he infected them with the "Mercer Virus". Now one of these Evolved, one obsessed with security, finds himself in Equestria. Can this Viral being find peace when his own nature will not allow him to?
1. Chapter 1: Arrival

Upon one of the many ruined and tendril covered sky scrapers of the Red Zone, Formally the southern half of Manhattan Island, a fairly large group of men, women and several children stood in the pouring rain. They stood completely captivated by the scene on a shorter building they stared at.

The scene was of one James Heller and Alex Mercer locked in an absolutely vicious battle for supremacy. Black Watch choppers circled overhead watching the battle unfold between the two ungodly powerful Blacklight beings, occasionally they would be a victim of Alex's tendrils and would be thrown at Heller himself. But other than that James and Alex paid no attention to the Black Watch observers, Black Watch itself knew better than to get involved in this fight and would have pulled back at a much more safe distance if it were not for Colonel Rooks' orders. The moment the man had been notified of the battle, Rooks' ordered all his local air support to the area, not to attack either infected or even to support Heller but to watch. If Alex won then hopefully he would be weakened enough for Black Watch to finally take down, if Heller won then the problem was already solved.

Back on the tower the people continued to watch the fight intensely; they were heavily invested in this fight specifically in Heller winning. The reason why was because they were the rest of Alex's Evolved army, and if Alex won then he would not be pleased in them not coming to his aid.

If one recalled the behavior of Alex's other Evolved then one would wonder why these were revolting. The reason was simple, unlike those Evolved these were _recruited_ purely from the civilian population. These men and woman were desperate and broken by Black Watch's cruelty, seen as easily controlled by Alex, he infected many to use as elite Cannon Fodder against the armies of the world once he began to expand his operations outside the NYZ. However Alex was never the deep thinking or planning type, despite what he may think or the empty praises of his Gentech and Black Watch Evolved. If he was then he would have seen an obvious flaw in his plan. The fact is that once the "Cannon Fodder" of the Evolved army had no more reason to fear Black Watch because of their new found strength and power, their initial loyalty would then fade quickly in the face of his sociopathic cruelty. Years of being looked down upon by the "elites" of the Evolved army, years of having no choice but to obey the brutal commends of their viral overlord and his Cadre of psychopaths were finally coming to a head.

James Heller. Everything changed with his recruitment, very few marines were recruited due to the fact the USMC tended to screen out all the psychopaths Alex adored to get, but a few would catch the eye of an Evolved. So the rest of the Cannon Fodder simply assumed that James Heller was another marine that managed to hide his psychopathy or became twisted in the face of the horrific fighting of the Red Zone and the sanctioned atrocities committed daily by Black Watch. They began to rethink this opinion when word reached them of Koenigs' death at the newly minted Evolved's claws. When operations began to fail all across the Green Zone, everyone had their suspicions of who it was. After years of success after success and Black Watch recruitment standards falling ever further to cover their losses it was clear that the Evolved had an enemy amongst its own. It didn't take Alex long to find out who and when he personally set out to "fix" the problem the Cannon Fodder simply assumed that was that. Once again, they were wrong.

Somehow Heller not only resisted Alex's attempt to consume him but forced him back. It was with this news that the members of the Cannon Fodder Evolved began to have hope. More than a few members set out to watch Heller's rampage against both Evolved and Black Watch operations and became glad that Alex couldn't pinpoint where Heller would stay when he wasn't tearing Black Watch a new one. Seeing Heller annihilate whole Black Watch bases and tearing Evolved limb from limb had told the Cannon Fodder that going against him, even in force, would only end in their deaths.

Finally after both Black Watch and the Evolved suffering crippling blows to both their operations and manpower, Alex finally gave an order to the Cannon Fodder Evolved. They were to surround a building where Alex and his remaining Cadre of psychopaths would await Heller and once Heller did arrive they were to surround and overpower him through sure force of numbers. But the Cannon Fodder decided to make a change to the plan. Instead of surrounding the building they would gather the whole of their numbers and watch from a neighbouring skyscraper. Choosing to do this had its risks, namely that Alex would likely consume all if not most of them for disobedience but that was only if HE won, and so far it was appearing to be not the case.

The Evolved collectively held their breath when they saw Alex charge at Heller with his blade and Heller choosing to block instead of dodge, an act that hadn't worked before. But it seemed that the fight had finally drained Alex to the point his blade couldn't pierce Heller's shield and the former marine repaid Alex by quickly severing his blade with a claw. Recoiling away from Heller, Alex quickly formed a whipfist and shot it towards Heller and once again the rebellious Evolved blocked Mercer's attack and severed that arm with his own blade. Visibly becoming weaker by the second, Alex quickly formed his two hammerfists and leapt into the air, intending to crush Heller. Forming his own hammerfists, Heller choose to meet him with force instead of getting out of the way like before. It only proved how weakened Alex was by the fight when Heller was not only not crushed by Alex's blow but managed to catch his hammerfists in his own before proceeding to pull Alex's arms out of their sockets.

Weakened to the point that even a certain Black Watch operative might have been able to end the Blacklight being, Alex fell to his knees, unable to regenerate and heal his wounds. At this the Evolved on the nearby tower began to crowd and lean over the ledge, eager to see their tyrant ended once and for all. They were rewarded with their patience by Heller taking Alex by the neck and proceeding to rip him to shreds and cut those shreds to pulp. Soon Alex Mercer was nothing more than a bloody stain on the tower, consumed by James Heller who was clutching at his torso and shaking slightly from the sudden intake of memories.

Finally… it was over. The remaining Evolved began to laugh lightly and smile for the first time in months if not years. It was over, they could finally-

It was then that James Heller exploded. The Evolved remnants fall to the ground with a startled shout as Heller became a massive ball of tendrils that proceeded to lash out and spread all over the Red Zone. The Evolved quickly got to their feet as large tendrils began to appear over the edge of the building and rapidly reach towards them. Claws appeared in a surge of black tendrils as the Evolved prepared to defend themselves and their own but the large tendrils stopped in place suddenly before rapidly retreating away. Slowly and hesitantly the Evolved approached the ledge and peered over it.

"Is… is it over Gabriel?" A blond woman asked.

"I think so." Gabriel, a man wearing blue jeans, black sneakers, a white hoodie and a large ribbed black vest (1), said.

Gabriel then began to look for Heller, only to see that he had disappeared from his spot on the building below but that was not the only thing Gabriel noticed. The large viral growth and tendrils that had attached to the very building Heller had stood was now black and not glowing, everywhere else that Gabriel looked he saw dead viral growth or pieces of infected laying all over the streets below. Not only that but the red glow that the entire Red Zone emitted was now gone, leaving it dull and dark.

"I don't believe it." Gabriel said in awe. "He killed the virus, the whole virus."

"Incredible!" The blond woman from before exclaimed. "It's lucky we were standing on this building!"

Nodding in agreement Gabriel turned away from the ledge to face someone that stood away from the group, practically on the other side of the roof and stared at the others with untrusting eyes.

"Oskar?" Gabriel asked with an outreached hand.

"What is he doing here?!" The blond woman gasped and many other Evolved quickly reformed their weapons. "He was supposed to be down there with the other psychos!"

"It's okay!" Gabriel shouted as he waved down the other Evolved. "He and I had made a deal, right Oskar?"

"… Yeah."

"Oskar… its time." Gabriel stated as he reached a hand out to the apparently disliked Evolved.

Oskar was a fair skinned man, standing at a rather average height, possessed ice blue eyes and platinum blonde hair. He wore a pair of white runners, tan cargo pants, a white unzipped hoodie, a bright blue tee-shirt and a white bucket hat that left his eyes shadowed in the dark of the night. He was also one of the few Cannon Fodder Evolved that had been "promoted" to Alex's Cadre when he had killed and consumed a Black Watch Evolved, despite the fact he had seemingly been consumed by said Evolved for impudence only for that Evolved to collapse in pain later and Oskar to appear in his place, thus appearing to have become another one of Mercer's loyal psychopath's to the Cannon Fodder Evolved.

For a few moments Oskar seemed to stand and not acknowledge Gabriel before hesitantly stepping forward and reaching out with his own hand to grasp Gabriel's. To an unsuspecting observer this looked like an awkward handshake but to the Evolved on the roof this was an exchange of genetic information. There was a reason why they were the Cannon Fodder Evolved despite being Blacklight beings, Alex kept them hold up in outposts all over the NYZ but mostly in the Red Zone. They were given a few useful traits and one weapon mutation and that was it, only Alex's Cadre of psychopaths were allowed to stock up on traits, weapon mutations and roam the NYZ as they pleased. Being a part of that Cadre meant Oskar was allowed to do all that and be assigned important missions when Alex had deemed he had "bulked up" enough. Killing and eating a Cadre member meant Oskar was sent on missions from the get go. He was reported to be a very successful and efficient agent in the field because of the fact that he was never caught or that the aftermath of the destruction he wreaked only ever looked to be the work of "civilian agitators" to Black Watch.

Seemingly because of his origins as a Cannon Fodder Evolved Oskar was never that loyal or confident of Alex's victory, he had actually been the first Evolved to notice Heller's traitorous actions and instead of notifying Alex and ending the problem then and there, he had volunteered to work in the Yellow Zone to re-establish Evolved influence and control. This is where he had stayed and actually worked to do what he said until Heller began wreaking havoc in the Red Zone. He had received a recall order from Alex for him to be present at the final confrontation between him and Heller; he had replied that he was on his way but may not make it in time. This was actually not true; he was fully able to make it back in time but actually used the excuse in order to meet in secret with the "leader" of the Cannon Fodders, one Gabriel Cain. Once again Oskar had kept important game changing information close to heart in the form of the Cannon Fodders' quiet rebellion. After an initial confrontation between the two, Oskar and Gabriel came to a deal. If Heller won then Oskar would offer up his whole arsenal of weapon mutations and useful traits to boost the entirety of the Cannon Fodders to his level. However if Alex won then Oskar would kill Gabriel first and foremost to keep Alex from learning of his sole remaining Cadre member's duplicity. But since Alex was dead and nothing more than blood splatter on the ground, Oskar had an obligation to Gabriel to keep.

As Oskar withdrew his hand he contemplated his new situation, the sole surviving Cadre Evolved was both pleased and unhappy, pleased that the greatest threat to his personal safety was dead and that the other would be leaving the NYZ with his child very soon, unhappy that because of his sharing his strength with the weaker Cannon Fodders meant that in terms of strength soon all of them would have the potential to kill him. It would have been simple enough to go back on his word to Gabriel, with their numbers the Cannon Fodders would have been able to wear him down and kill him but Oskar wasn't so stupid that he would just charge at them, claws swinging. He knew many viral quirks and tricks that would give him eventual victory. But backstabbing is a bad habit for one to have and would lead to his death sooner or later if he went through with it.

The roof under Gabriel began to crack and pieces of debris lifted in the air to float around the hooded Evolved as a blood red vapor began leaving his body; black tendrils surged and writhed over his form. Suddenly with a burst of air pressure it was over, Gabriel was staring at his hands in amazement.

"Incredible! I feel so much power!" Gabriel exclaimed as he felt his own biomass began to rapidly surge and grow without him needing to consume bio matter. A hide harder than steel formed under the Evolved's skin, all his muscles became denser and many times stronger than they were before and that was only but a few of his new strengths and abilities.

Gabriel closed his eyes and indulged in the feeling of his new power for a moment longer before quickly turning on his heel and walking towards his fellows, eager to share with them his new strength.

Oskar stood still and watched as the other Cannon Fodders underwent the same changes. Suddenly the Cadre Evolved turned on his heel and walked towards a door leading to the buildings stairwell. Oskar had a sudden urge to go downstairs for something, what that something was the Blacklight being had no clue only that he needed to head downstairs for it.

The bucket hatted Evolved's departure went unnoticed as the Cannon Fodders were too enamored with their new found power to pay him much attention, not that they were willing to have him around in the first place.

Oskar closed the roof door behind him and began to walk down the staircase. The Evolved tripped on the very first step and began to fall forward. Normally this would not be a danger to Oskar or even most people but instead of seeing a dimly lit staircase coming to meet him Oskar saw an endless plain of black dotted with white lights begin to rush past him. Before he could open his mouth and scream in surprise he found a grass covered ground appearing suddenly in front of him. Oskar slammed into the ground with a loud crash, kicking up substantial clods of dirt. The Cadre Evolved lay a moment in stunned silence before letting out a grown.

**҉**

In a place unimaginably far away and unbelievably close by lived beings of great power and in mind boggling numbers. These beings were known for many things by many different peoples, leading hordes massive enough to make the ground quake in their footsteps, holding great strength and speed within their bodies making them able to go toe to toe with even the strongest warriors, masters of grand planning and subterfuge weaving plots that even mortal legends could face great difficulty unraveling, of these things all are correct yet at the same time all are wrong. Just as the average person these beings have their own preferences for what they like to do and their own natural skill level at it, some are great fighters, some are great strategists, some are great leaders of men and there are others who lie on the opposite end of the spectrum and those who are somewhere in between. As to whom these beings are and the name of their home… they are called the Astral Lords and their home is the Infinite Kingdom.

The Infinite Kingdom itself is a massive city scape that seemed to stretch on infinitely interrupted only by the occasional park or rooftop garden, buildings of various heights and widths filled the realm with some that seemed to be as small and thin as a cottage and others that seemed to be as wide around as a planet and stretch off into the "sky". The sky itself was strange in that while there were clouds, if one stared hard enough they would notice that the sky did have a roof and that roof was another equally developed city scape. The entire realm was lit during the day by miniature suns placed between the halfway points between city planes and scattered here and there to light up the whole of the universe during the day, during the night the light of the suns would "burn" down until they gave a comfortable glow comparable to the moon. Finally it had to be said that the buildings and even the fashions of this massive place was based upon an era of an island country just north of your average Earth universe Europe, namely Victorian England… granted the whole idea of skin tight pants and powdered wigs had been thrown as soon as seen but the buildings reflected the culture of the era grandly. Great Palaces, grand estates, massive mansions covered in beautiful architecture and gilded in precious metals made the whole realm shine during the day and glint during the night.

In one such grand pearly palace, that was as wide around as the Earth and half as tall as the Sol system was wide, was a room containing a massive crystal ball, being watched by several Astral Lords and Ladies. The room itself was just as grand as one would think of a room within a palace would be, gilded furniture stuffed with the softest cotton, master piece paintings and masterfully carved busts, which went unnoticed by its occupants.

"Bored, bored, bored, bored!" An Astral Lady, who wore a gilded jacket rather than some grand dress, stated repeatedly. "Whens he gonna do something fun?!"

"Just give him a few moments; these Blacklight fellows are always interesting." An Astral Lord replied while watching the massive crystal ball, which was currently displaying a picture of Oskar shaking his head and getting up. "Even when they are not."

"Well he's not interesting now!" The Astral Lady whined before falling back into her seat with a pout and arms crossed.

"You're just mad because the world you were watching got clichéd." The Astral Lord replied as a fairly large popcorn bucket which actually held gummy bears appeared above, he reached out to let it drop into his grip but it moved over in midair and tipped over his head, the bucket fell a second later and covered said head.

Another Astral Lord lying across a neighbouring couch giggled at his handy work before turning to the Astral Lady.

"What were ya watching Astrid?" He asked her.

"Naruto." Astrid grumbled. "It was getting good too. It had a sweet believable romance with Anko and awesome action scenes but then it started to get into harem hijinks and ruined everything!" Astrid shouted as she stamped her feet.

"Huh." The Astral Lord stated simply. "I'm here because the guys I usually watch just got invaded by batch of brawlers and now the reception gets all messed up when I try to look."

"Pfffft, stupid brawlers." Astrid scoffed. "Can't just enjoy the show; have to actually get involved in it."

"I dunno its kinda fun to get into it." The other Astral Lord replied.

"Meh."

"Shush." The first Astral Lord said, he had another bucket of gummy bears but had yet to remove the old one from his head, having only pushed it up enough to not block his sight.

"What, is something happening Orion?" Astrid asked as she turned back to the crystal ball.

"Not just yet." Orion replied, tossing a handful of gummy bears into his mouth. "In just a moment or two though…"

**҉**

Oskar scratched his head as he took in his surroundings. He appeared to be in a forest beside a river, a rather spooky forest. There was a low hanging mist everywhere he looked and the trees had shadows casted on their bark that just happened to make them look like they had freaky snarling faces. All in all it was pretty nice compared to the Red Zone at night, or even the Yellow Zone for that matter. The Cadre Evolved was still stuck on the point of just _how_ he had arrived here in the first place though. It was at this point that a local resident of the forest Oskar had arrived in decided to make himself known.

A dark spot in the water suddenly bulged and out came a massive serpent like creature. It had purple scales, two arms with hands and a head of orange hair with an immaculate moustache that somehow managed to stay in place despite being wet. The serpent then turned his attention to the creature that had landed in a fashion that had looked rather painful and attempted to greet.

"Oh why hel-accck!" The river serpent got out before he was interrupted.

Out of the corner of his eye Oskar had seen a long thin shape come out of the water and his first thought was 'HYDRA!' of course being an Evolved in Alex's army meant that unless he rebelled then he had nothing to fear from the hydras, but Oskar did not like hydras, AT ALL. It was to the point that he would attack them whenever he saw one, a fact that either amused or annoyed Alex Mercer depending on the situation Oskar had attacked a hydra in.

So thinking that a hydra with a death wish popped up beside him, Oskar proceeded to quickly morph his two arms into twin whipfists. Absently Oskar had noted two large eyes without yet realising that the creature before him was not a hydra and was beginning to speak to him. The Cadre Evolved quickly wound his arms up and proceeded to shoot both whipfists forward. The deadly harpoon headed whips shot forward and sunk into the eye sockets of the large serpent.

With a shout quickly cut short, the river serpent stayed up wobbling a moment before its corpse fell forward, landing on the river bank beside Oskar with a loud crash.

Angry scowl firmly plastered on his face, it took Oskar a few moments of breathing before his mind suddenly caught up with the situation. For one, he was most definitely not in the NYZ so this creature could not be a hydra, two, the creature before him appeared to be an arguably campy looking loch ness monster and finally three, it had SPOKE just before Oskar had killed it or rather him judging from the voice.

With that in mind Oskar proceeded to disappear in a mass of writhing black tendrils that, with a moment's hesitation, proceeded to advance on the serpents body and move into its torn eye sockets. The tendrils soon disappeared into the torn flesh of the serpents eyes and before long the whole corpse began to rapidly twitch as shapes moved just beneath the surface of the scales. Suddenly the entire body had turned black for a brief moment before fading back into its old color.

The body of the serpent was now without any visible wounds, the eyes now restored and were now closed as the serpent continue to lay on the ground, seemingly asleep. Suddenly the eyes opened and the serpent rose from its place on the ground, it stretched out its arms and arched its back, as if waking from a deep sleep.

"Well this different, I've never tried to take on the form of something this big before." Oskar commented in the serpents voice absently and idly wondered why he never tried before. "Well as interesting as this body is it's time to take in the memories, here we go!" Oskar said before arching his back and grasping at his head, letting out a loud groan.

In a mere second it was done and Oskar was left staring wide eyed at the river bank. Images, thoughts, sounds, smells, opinions, all that was ever experienced, all that made the river serpent who he was flowed through Oskar's own mind in a blur. A name, Steven Magnet, it was the river serpent's. More memories flowed, some dull, colorless and devoid of anything that stimulated the senses, these were unimportant memories, rarely if ever remembered even a moment after their creation. Then were the other memories un-equal in the senses they evoked, some had incredibly bright colors and lacked all else, others had a blurry image but held powerful aromas and a few were deeply emotionally involved, the Blacklight being backpedal rapidly from those, unwilling to experience them in anything other than a detached viewing. Then were the memories which held great significance to Steven and involved all the senses, one slammed into Oskar's mind faster than he could pull away from it. An image of a city from just above an ocean's surface, a name leapt up, Vanhoover. Then the view suddenly plunged beneath the waves and Oskar was greeted with the view of a long emerald green serpent much like Steven that had a head of long purple hair. Sounds, beautiful music, the emerald serpent was singing and by the sounds of its voice and look of its face, it was a she. Emotions immediately leapt into being, a desire, a need, a want, the sound of a beating heart accompanied the singing. There a scent, alien yet familiar at the same time, almost like a flower, to Oskar it was powerful almost burning to his nose. Then the memory began to fade.

It would be here that Oskar start pulling away from Steven's memories for a time after being caught in a powerful one like the he was just in. But another vibrant one began rushing at him, accompanied by laughter and bright colors. Oskar thinking it must just been some sort of celebration memory, allowed it to come to him. He was not far off; it was not a celebration but more of a show, a fashion show. The view was from a river right next to where the fashion show was taking place. To Oskar the show was being watched by what looked to be dwarf horses of many vibrant colors, several minor memories from Steven leapt at him, names; Ponies, unicorns, pegasus, earth pony. The view shifted from the mares walking up and down the aisle, showing off the outfits they wore, to an off section where several unicorns were discussing fashion trends, a conversation that Steven seemed to be taking part in. While they were talking the unicorns began idly dressing up a dummy with many dresses and partially made outfits, their horn aglow as they manipulated the fabrics and cloths. This seemingly unremarkable to the unicorns and Steven brought a sharp jump of surprise from Oskar. The Blacklight being wondered at how the unicorns were doing that, moving things through the air with their horns when another minor memory came to Oskar with a simple answer… magic. And with that Oskar ended his assimilation of Steven's mind.

Still in Steven's form, Oskar continued to stare wide eyed at the river bank. His mouth worked wordlessly for several moments before he finally spoke.

"…Magic…" Oskar repeated dully, his mind awhirl. "…Magic…"

Magic was how pegasi flew with such small wings and at such high speeds, magic was why earth ponies were so strong and could work so hard and long, magic was what the unicorns used whenever their horns were glowing.

"…Magic…" Oskar said with soft laughter, his eyes glinting in interest.

Magic was what the unicorns also used whenever they wanted to protect themselves, as one memory of when Steven accidently startled one that specialised in just that attested.

"Such potential!" Oskar said as he thought aloud. "All the things I could do with such abilities, all the unknowns of what such genes may do if they underwent mutation!"

Oskar idly wondered why he was taking this revelation so seriously. Obviously he was not in his world anymore; a glance to the utterly alien star constellations only cemented that fact. It probably had to do with the physics defying viruses, the constant violation of the constitution by the government, the half trained army of psychopaths Black Watch had in their employ but a mere glance of this world from one perspective was enough for him to prefer this one to his home, not to mention that here _no one_ knew about Blacklight, no one knew about him! Without anyone searching for him he could go unnoticed forever, he could seek power safely without constantly being hunted by secret organizations and neither did he have to deal with beings far, far more powerful than him watching him constantly for treachery. Even if he was found out about he wasn't even sure these people had the technology to even try to find him!

"Yes…" Oskar smiled as he twirled one end of his moustache. "I could finally be-eh!"

Suddenly Oskar was holding a severed piece of his moustache; he looked around but saw the forest and the low hanging mist. That is until he looked around above his head, there was a swirl of odd sparkling purple smoke that hung in the air before suddenly darting off into the forest.

'_The hell was that!'_ Oskar thought in shock. _'Okay enough messing around! I may be in a place without people actively hunting me but that does not mean there aren't any that wouldn't hunt the forms I take. This is a magical world… that could have been a fairy playing a trick on or a spirit doing… something. Arrrgh,I need more information! Now where was there any towns this river connects flows by? Hmmm, let's s-hmm?'_

Just off in the distance Oskar could hear voices approaching him, concentrating he could make out the whole group as girls, most likely mares,

'_Right… time to gather information.'_ Oskar thought to himself. '_Steven has talked to ponies before so I know I should be able to talk to them without them freaking out, good thing too, I'd rather not have to deal with more baggage eating someone brings. Okay so how does he… really?! I'm supposed to act like… oh well.' _ Oskar thought with a sigh as he got into "character". '_Not as bad as acting like a skin head at least.'_

**҉**

"Bye mister Sea Serpent!" Pinkie Pie waved at Oskar before trotting after her friends.

"Steven" returned Pinkie's wave cheerfully until she and her friends were well out of sight before the cheerful expression fell away like the mask it was.

'_Well, that was a bit informative.'_ Oskar thought as he twirled his fixed moustache. _'I'm curious, what are they doing here? From what I can tell of Steven's memories the ponies don't like coming here because of how "unnatural" it is…hmmm…'_

Oskar stared after the group of mares in thought before glancing at his moustache, or rather Rarity's tail.

'_This is the moment of truth!' _Oskar thought excitedly as he tugged the tail off. _'If this works, a whole new world of possibilities opens to me. If not… I'm going to be heartbroken but I still have this world's possibilities open to me…'_

'_Here goes!'_ In an instant the purple tail was gone and immediately Oskar felt his body react.

Clutching his purple scaled chest, Oskar fell forward onto the riverbank. Halfway out of the water the Blacklight being began thrashing on the ground for a moment before finally raising his fist high above his head and brought it down on the riverbank with all his might. Black tendrils erupted out of and began covering Oskar's body as he started to release a howl of exertion; his body became a large unrecognisable mass of tendrils, rapidly shrinking down into a smaller form. Tendrils finally forming a familiar shape, Oskar's howl turned into a shrill feminine scream before he suddenly stopped as a pressure wave exploded from him and he fell onto his back, panting in exertion.

"I… I hope the reason for that was because how different magic is." Oskar said in a soft voice before climbing onto his feet; only to flop over almost immediately, Oskar looked down to see four marshmallow white hooved legs. "Oh right, those… I completely forgot. Okay, come on instinctive memory don't fail me now."

Much more carefully Oskar rose back onto his feet and began wobbling over to the riverside to get a look at his reflection. Looking down Oskar saw _her_ face looking back at her with a curious expression, the Cadre Evolved now looked exactly like Rarity right down to the cutie mark on her flank. Smiling, Oskar gave a quick toss of her mane as she examined herself closely before her eyes landed on her horn.

'_Well this little thing was the whole reason for all that so I hope I can actually use it.'_ Oskar thought with a troubled frown as she pondered how to use her magic… that is if she actually had it. '_Maybe… maybe it's like Eragon? Maybe the source of my magic is in the depths of my mind as a small spot and if I prod at it enough I'll trigger it? Hmmm…'_ Glancing upwards at her horn, Oskar shook her head. _'Why should it be in the depths? My horn is right there, the part of my brain that controls magic should be in a section in the frontal lobe.'_

Closing her eyes in concentration, Oskar used her absolute control of her body to her advantage. Drawing on the knowledge gained from eating Black Watch's finest minds, Oskar began searching her blank unicorn brain for unknown sections and forcefully activating mental triggers. A few false starts and accidently turning her lungs and heart off later she finally had it.

"AHHH!" Oskar shouted in surprise as she felt… something suddenly flow through her horn. Eyes blinking rapidly, Oskar hesitantly "flicked" the mental trigger again and once more Oskar felt something flowing through her horn but this time she saw it as well. A bright purple glow surrounded Oskar's horn and she quickly looked down onto the water's surface, she was greeted with herself smiling like a kid in a candy store and her horn glowing brightly. Still smiling like child who was told Christmas came early Oskar flicked her mental trigger again and turned her flow of magic off. Suddenly she had an idea that somehow made her smile wider.

"Lumos!" Oskar shouted as she triggered her magic on and as she triggered it off she shouted. "Nox!"

Heart beating in mind addling excitement, Oskar began bounding all over the river bank in a fashion very much like that of a certain pink pony while shouting "Lumos!Nox!" in time with her triggering her magic on and off.

After a few minutes of doing nothing more than simply turning her magic on and off while shouting Harry Potter references, Oskar finally calmed down enough to try to do something more complicated with her magic.

Moving over to the riverside Oskar grabbed a small pebble with her hoof and began to concentrate on it before suddenly blinking her eyes in stupefaction. Oskar began rapidly looking back and forth between her hoof holding the pebble and the riverbed she grabbed it from.

"How the hell did I…" The Blacklight being began only to quickly shake her head. "One thing at a time Oskar, first master magic horn THEN solve mystery of magic hooves."

Bringing her focus back on the pebble held in her hoof, Oskar triggered her magic back on and concentrated. Oskar spent the next several minutes staring at the rock with her horn glowing in the darkness of the night all the while but in the end all she managed was to get the aura around her horn to slightly bend towards the pebble.

"Damn it." Oskar muttered as she threw the pebble back into the river. "I knew it wasn't going to be easy but I was hoping it would be easier for _me_. I really don't won't to spend the next decade or so in some pony equivalent of Hogwarts… I guess I'll just eat a magic master or something. I'll need more information about what those sorts of people are capable of though, before I commit to anything drastic and potentially life threatening to me. Which would require I find a town with a library or maybe a city… no I'll leave off going to a city for later after I'm more adapted to the place and culture."

"…Maybe if follow after them they'll lead me to a town?" Oskar thought aloud as she stared after the path the six mares had taken. Nodding in decision Oskar shifted back into his default form and began jogging down the path.

'_Let's see…_' Visible only to himself, Oskar sent out a viral pulse which came back after a moment. _'They are still in range, not a surprise there considering they were on foot. Right let's go!'_

With that the humanoid virus started sprinting down the path, his footfalls tearing up large clods of dirt in his passage.

**҉**

'_Spooky ruins in a spooky forest not surprised.'_ Oskar thought as he took in the ruins of an ancient palace. _'Now where are those ponies?'_

Suddenly one of the still standing towers in the ruins lit up like a lighthouse as the sound of someone loudly cackling in triumphed glee came from within.

'_Survey says! Spooky Tower!' _Oskar declared in mock cheer before making a massive leap towards said tower and gliding the rest of the way.

Landing with a soft thump, Oskar quickly shifted a whipfist and sunk it a ways into the roof before "repelling" down the side of the tower towards a window. Coming to a stop next to the window Oskar slowly and subtly placed his hand on the stone sill to not attract attention, and then his entire form quickly degenerated into a mass of tendrils that moved onto the sill but managed to remain in a small extremely dense lump of black roughly the size of a fist. After doing so Oskar quickly shifted into a form that anyone would ignore in moldy old ruins, a rat. Retaining vastly superior vision despite the form Oskar took the scene before him in.

He was… not impressed…

"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty! Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of... kindness!" Twilight began.

Twilight and her friends were in the middle of their final confrontation with Nightmare moon, who Oskar had already deemed the _villain_.

'_Really, just look at her how could she be anything else in this situation with that swirly energy hair of doom above her.'_ Oskar thought derisively._ 'And not only is she the villain she's an average villain! Look at her! Looking all shocked and outraged while that unicorn is just rambling along about whatever it is she is talking about. With the way things are looking I bet it is the key to her defeat or something.'_

"…And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty!" Twilight finished. "The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us."

"You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!" Nightmare Moon declared, desperation beginning to seep into her voice.

"But it did! A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all are...my friends! You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!" Twilight said to Nightmare Moon at first before turning to her friends.

'_Tch, if it were me up there instead of miss swirly hair there, those six would have been dead the moment that unicorn spoke up.'_ Oskar thought, criticizing Nightmare's villainy. _'All it would have taken me would be a half second to form my whipfist and 'BAM' pony heads rolling. Seriously what kind of- WHOA!'_

Suddenly in a fairly impressive light show, Twilight's Element of Magic suddenly appeared above and settled on her head. But that was just the beginning, soon the other five mares began to float in the and their eyes glowed brightly with the power of the Elements, soon enough Twilight joined them herself as a buildup of rainbow colored energy appeared around the six. Then the energy shot forward towards Nightmare Moon in a powerful beam.

"No! NO! **NOooooo!**" Nightmare Moon screamed out as she was engulfed.

Oskar found himself forced to close his eyes as a sudden explosion of white light bloomed throughout room yet felt no heat from what he thought was an actual explosion. When the light faded Oskar was met with the sight of the six mares passed out and Princess Luna lying on the ground with the pieces of her armor around her.

'_Wha-what the hell was that?!'_ Oskar thought in shock, though his magic was only recently gained even he could feel the sure power in the air as it was unleashed. '_What did they do to her?! She seems to be alright… but with so much… ENERGY they must have done SOMETHING! __**GOD DAMN IT TO HELL!**__ I thought I didn't have to worry about this anymore! I thought I was safe from things capable of hurting me! This is what I get for letting my guard down and trying to relax! A __**FUCKING**__ punch to the face!'_

So focused on his internal rant and being angry with himself for not being more aware of his surroundings, Oskar did not notice when Princess Celestia swopped into the room through the window he was just using and began speaking with the now awake Mane Six. By the time he did notice Luna was crying into Celestia's shoulder, saying sorry she was.

'_She… she's different now…' _Oskar thought as he took the sight in. _'Is that what they did? Rewrite her personality into something that would regret her past actions? Did I just witness a person's mind get obliterated and get replaced with what is essentially an entirely different person?'_

"Hello there little one." A soft voice said.

Utterly startled Oskar squeaked out loud in surprise when he saw Fluttershy staring at him as he sat on the window sill.

"Oh, its okay I don't want to hurt you." Fluttershy soothed as she stepped closer until she was just in front Oskar. "What are you doing here all alone? Is your home in the tower? Well come here, I'll bring you home."

As Fluttershy reared up to pick up Oskar's rat form the Blacklight being found himself shocked into stillness with how close he was to one of the magical objects he saw used on Nightmare Moon.

Taking the rat's stillness as permission Fluttershy proceeded to attempt to lift it onto her back. The demure pegasus' eyes widened when she tried to lift the rat only for it to stay put, the reason being Oskar being incredibly dense and heavy even when he was in his default form, this was even more so the case in such a small compact form of a rat.

"Urrr, gah!" Fluttershy stopped her second attempt to lift the rat and looked at her hooves with a pout. "I-I'm not _that_ weak… am I?"

"Hey Fluttershy what'cha up to?" Rainbow Dash asked as she swooped over.

"I'm trying to being this rat back to his home but…" Fluttershy began before stopping, hesitant to explain why she couldn't.

"Buuuut?" Dash pressed.

"…Its too heavy for me." Fluttershy murmured.

"…Pffft, Hahahaha!" Dash laughed aloud. "Seriously?! It's a rat Fluttershy! How heavy could it be?"

To prove her point Dash quickly brought herself to a hovering position over Oskar's rat form and reached down to lift him up. Oskar during this was too nervous of the proximity of the magical artifacts around him to do anything but allow Dash try her hoof at lifting him.

"Wha?! Holy hay! You weren't kidding Fluttershy!" Dash said in disbelief as the rat wouldn't budge from the window sill. "This rat is heavier than a cow!"

"What's this 'bout cows?" Applejack asked as she stepped next to Fluttershy.

"This rat Dash is trying to pick up is super heavy." Fluttershy answered, pointing at Rainbow who was still going at it and flapping her wings ever harder. "I tried to pick it up too but…"

"Come on Sugercube leave the little fella alone, ya scaring him." Applejack said, noting the rat's scared wide open eyes.

"Almost got it, almost got it," Dash replied as she just managed to lift the rat off the window sill and bring up about a foot. "Almost-"

With a squeak Oskar slipped through Dash's grip and fell back onto the window sill. Being as small and dense as he was, Oskar not only ended up cracking the ancient sill but smashed right through it, falling down the cliff face to the forest far below.

"OH MY GOSH, DASH!" Fluttershy shouted as the rat fell out of sight.

"Crud." Rainbow Dash muttered before quickly darting through the window.

If Oskar was a normal rat then Dash would have not only spotted him mid-fall but caught him as well. But he wasn't a normal rat, Oskar was incredibly dense and small as well, he fell towards the ground like a bullet. By the time Dash flew out the window after him he had already reached the forest canopy, leaving one rainbow maned pegasus to nervously go back empty hoofed.

Down on the forest floor far below, a mass of tendrils exploded out of a freshly dug deep hole in the ground. The tendrils quickly took on Oskar's default form who upon reforming leaned against a tree and released a relieved sigh.

'_That was far too close for comfort.' _ Oskar thought as he stared up at the ruins far above. _'There is no telling how they may have reacted if they found out about me. They probably would have mind wiped me as well and implanted some sort of subservient persona.'_

'_I really don't want to do this…'_ Oskar mentally sighed as his viral sonar showed the ponies begin moving off. _'But this is the quickest way to find civilization here. I should be okay as long as I keep a fair distance from them.'_

With that the Cadre Evolved began running up the cliff face to follow the ponies home.

**҉**

Oskar watched Ponyville from the shadows of Everfree. There was a celebration going on, it had started fairly soon after the ponies arrived in the town.

'_Probably congratulating them on their enslavement of a powerful being.' _Oskar thought darkly.

Putting those thoughts aside Oskar began contemplating the near future. He had accomplished his objective of finding a nearby town and judging by the spires in the distance a city wasn't too far away either. Now however he needed a disguise so he could get the information he needed, he already had a pony form thanks to Rarity's tail but that pony lived in this very town, not to mention how suspicious it would be if "Rarity" started asking about things and places she should already know about. What Oskar needed was a pony from out of town… or at the very least one that would be heading out of town for a while… Oskar had just had an idea.

'_Hmmmm…' _Oskar rubbed his chin in thought as he studied the town before him._ 'I'm fairly certain I can do it, never needed to before but I had plenty of places to get a "disguise" in a city. Yeah… yeah if two normal humans can do it I can do it by myself.'_

Oskar made a small smile as he watched the ponies continue to celebrate.

'_It's just a matter of time from here on out.'_

**-TBC-**

1: Anyone who seen the first videos of Prototype that was showcased will recognise this as the outfit Alex wore before it was changed to the one he wears now.

Whelp here is my other idea for a story, finally beginning to take shape. Just so you know I'm not going to abandon Erika Gefallen: Atlantean Unicorn. I'm still working on it, in fact the next part of the chapter may be up sometime this week.


	2. Chapter 2: Infiltration

AN: Today is your lucky day mister poofy

A unicorn with a lime green coat, green eyes, a pink curly mane and basket full of flowers cutie mark was walking out of Ponyville with full saddlebags. Her name was Rose Locks.

She was a mare that simply wanted to see the capital and decided to get some exercise while doing it. So Rose had set out on her journey early in the morning, when the sun had only just been raised, eager to see the sights of the capital gates by the end of the day.

Rose continued on her journey and was making good time, she was fairly certain she'd reach the base of Mount Canterlot by noon. However it was also around this time that she had begun to feel uneasy. She kept getting the feeling she was being followed yet all around her were wide open grass fields with grooves of deciduous trees dotted here and there; still the feeling did not abate and only seemed to get worse.

"Hmmmhmmm hm hm hm…" Trying to convince herself she was just imagining things, Rose begin humming to herself to calm her nerves, it seemed to be working. Suddenly, just as the road was about to pass a copse of trees with thick undergrowth, a shadow fell over her.

Rose looked up behind her but was partially blinded as whatever casted the shadow seemed to be coming from the direction of the sun. Suddenly Rose was sent sprawling to the ground, feeling like she was hit by a train. Before she could recover her senses and see what hit her Rose felt something roughly grab her by the mane and drag her into the underbrush. In pain and confused to what was happening, Rose suddenly had a horrifying realization. She was being attacked by some wild animal and it was bringing her into the underbrush to eat her in some privacy. At this line of thinking Rose opened her mouth to scream only for a paw like appendage with three talon like fingers to close over her mouth, the paw seemed to be covered in a dull smooth pitch black skin and had a few patches of eerie bright orange bioluminescence.

"MMMMM! MMMMM! MMMM!" Needless to say Rose was completely freaked out and screamed despite the paw muffling them.

The "wild animal" was actually Oskar, out fulfilling an objective he had set out for himself the day before. He was sitting on Rose's body, forcing her head away from him and holding her mouth shut with his tendril weapon mutation. The Cadre Evolved raised his non mutated right hand and quickly formed the index and middle finger into one long gleaming blade. Oskar aimed for the very base of the pony's neck, planning a quick death for his prey before consuming it. His blade surged forward, an edge sharpe enough to put a noticeable cut in a tank's armor singed as it cut through the air.

"MMMMM! MMMMM!" Rose continued to scream. She continued to scream because she was still alive.

Barely an inch away from the pony's soft flesh, the blade hung in the air. Oskar narrowed his eyes in intense thought as his claw shined in the noon sun.

'_Why should I kill her?'_ Oskar asked himself and an automatic answer came to him from all the other times he had asked this same question. _'I have no choice in the matter, she has to die! If she doesn't die then I would be the one to die in her place! And that is unacceptable; I will not let my last moments be me being eaten alive by Alex Mercer, just because I was feeling…'_ Suddenly Oskar's thoughts ground to a halt. _'… Alex Mercer is dead, eaten alive by James Heller. I __**DON'T**__ have to do this anymore; I don't have to play the part of a loyal rapid dog, siccing whatever my master tells me to anymore. There is no one here to make sure I play with my meals before eating them… I am finally independent, free to choose who to eat or if I even want to eat at all.'_

Oskar looked down at Rose under him; she was completely scared out of her mind and screaming her lungs out into his morphed hand.

'_My life is finally my own, this is what I wanted.' _Oskar thought decisively. _'And it is up to __**ME**__ and me alone to decide how I go about completing __**MY**__ objectives.'_

With that, Oskar's claw reverted back into his fingers. Hundreds of small holes appeared all over Oskar's morphed hand, each only ten times bigger than the viral cells he was made up of. Out of each hole a sweet smelling chemical began pouring out, their fumes quickly filling Rose's lungs.

"MMmmm! Mmmm. Mmmm…" Rose's muffled screams began to die off and her eyes started to flutter. In little over a minute she was completely out, her breaths coming out slow and deep.

Seeing she was now unconscious, enjoying a deep dreamless sleep, Oskar picked the unicorn up and laid her at the base of a tree, cradled by its roots. He kneeled down beside her and reached out with his hand. Two fingers formed into two small slicing blades in a surge of tendrils and with them he snipped off a small lock of her pink mane. Quickly absorbing the lock of mane Oskar backed away from the pony before a sudden surge of tendrils covered his form and quickly disappeared from sight, leaving a Pomeranian in his place.

The dog quickly bolted off back towards Ponyville and more importantly, Everfree. Its legs a blur of motion as it cut through the grass fields at speeds that not even a cheetah would have hoped to match.

**҉**

It had taken only fifteen minutes for Oskar to make it back to the Everfree, where he made for a small sheltered pond that was currently serving as his base of operations. He had then spent the next few hours attempting to do something that was theoretically possible but had never bothered with before. It was well into the afternoon by the time had any sort of reliable skill with it.

What was Oskar attempting to do? It was actually something that humans did all the time, sometimes knowingly and willingly, sometimes unknowingly and reluctant to bear with the consequences and only until recently back on Earth it was only possible with two humans, a man and a woman specifically.

Reproduction: the ability of two individuals to share genetic data and create a completely different being with it. This was what Oskar was basically trying to do, sans the sex, the womb and the fact there wouldn't be a separate being at the end.

The Cadre Evolved's first attempts at creating an entirely different form from Rarity's and Rose's DNA could be charitably be described as him mashing the genes together and hoping for the best. After the utter failure of the first attempt, Oskar began drawing on the memories of the geneticists he had eaten and began refining the process. The attempts following this were still relatively crude and obviously doomed to failure but Oskar learned from each attempt and soldiered onward. After hours of work and dozens upon dozens of failed attempts Oskar finally mastered his new skill enough to begin piecing together his new disguise.

Rarity's white coat, Rose's pink naturally curly mane and her green eyes as well as countless other traits and genes were either put into the new form, or punted out to make way for another that was arguably better. In just a few moments of "construction" Oskar was finished and in a surge of black tendrils, assumed his new form.

'_Cute!'_ Was Oskar's first thought upon looking down at her reflection. She had Rarity's coat and that other unicorn's mane and eyes alright, also upon closer examination of her face it seemed she also had a combination of the two unicorn's facial features… she wasn't too sure though, despite how "human" the faces of these ponies were they were still fairly equine.

A thought suddenly struck Oskar; she had not done anything to her cutie mark. She had actually not found anything in the pony genome even relating to the mark which in a way made sense. The marks were obviously purely magical. Oskar looked over her shoulder to examine her mark see if she could change it, it would not do to have the exact same cutie mark as somebody else in town. After all, each mark was basically a fingerprint, unique to each and every pony in some way.

Oskar blinked when she saw her mark, it was… different.

The cutie mark on Oskar's flank seemed to be an odd combination of both Rarity's and Rose's. Instead of Rarity's diamonds there were emeralds and instead of Rose's weaved basket full of flowers it was a metal bucket containing said emeralds.

'_Oooookay…' _Oskar thought unsurely. _'Don't how that happened but it does conveniently solve that problem.'_

Turning around, Oskar made her way into the thick underbrush with very little trouble, having mastered equine walking using Rarity's form yesterday.

'_Okay, objective one: Create an unrecognizable disguise, complete.'_ Oskar thought. _'Starting objective two: Infiltrate Ponyville and gather information on world history and cultures for ease of future infiltration missions.'_

'…_Optional objective: Gather information about the users of the magical artifacts, if potential danger of doing so is negligible.'_ Oskar added after a moment.

**҉**

'_Okay Oskar… remember, do not say somebody, say somepony.' _Oskar nervously coached herself as she approached the outskirts of Ponyville. _'Do not ask people to give you a hand, ask them to give you a hoof. And do not refer to them as people, say ponies instead.'_

Despite her experience in such things, Oskar was incredibly nervous about infiltrating Ponyville, likely to do with the fact her observation of the town proved it to be the home of _those_ six mares. And it showed outwardly too, making her mare form look almost as dainty and shy as a certain yellow coated pegasus. It didn't help that once Oskar started to get into the streets of Ponyville she started to get a lot of looks and stares from the locals. Trying to settle her nerves Oskar set about convincing herself that Ponyville just didn't get very many strangers in town. However if Oskar wasn't so nervous she probably would have noticed that the only ponies doing the looking were the colts.

'_Come on Oskar you can handle this!'_ The Cadre Evolved told herself. _'If you can stroll into a Black Watch base as blasé as can be despite the tanks, viral sensors, potential wild and lethal infected and hundreds of security personal, then you can walk into a small town that knows absolutely nothing about your existence. You are not stupid, so just be calm and don't be overt.'_

As was the usual when Oskar began her internal rants, she completely and utterly lost track of her surroundings. She was jolted out of her thoughts when she walked straight into a pony, an earth pony colt to be exact. Being the super dense viral being that she was, Oskar only noticed she walked into something, the pony on the ground however thought he must have walked headfirst into a solid brick wall rather than a pretty unicorn.

Oskar blinked in surprise a moment before quickly getting her act into gear.

"Oh I'm soooo sorry!" Oskar exclaimed with wide eyes. "I'm new in town, everything was so different and I guess my mind was just miles away!"

"… Are you alright?" Oskar asked when the colt didn't immediately get up or answer.

"Why yes!" The colt replied quickly, jumping to an upright position with a heavy blush.

"If you say so…" Oskar examined the colt before her, an act that made the colt's already flush cheeks even redder. He had a brown coat with a brown mane, bright blue eyes and an hour glass cutie mark. She also noticed blood beginning to drip out of his nostrils. "Are… are you bleeding?"

"What, this?" The colt sniffed and brought a hoof to his nose and examined it when it came back with some blood on it. "It's nothing! Really!"

'_Hurts so much…'_ The colt thought. _'…Don't cry…'_

"Well miss, allow me to introduce myself!" The colt said with a nervous smile. "I am Time Turner Whooves! I have a doctorate in quantum mechanics, specifically those associated with the fifth dimension… Time!" Time Turner announced grandly. "May I have the pleasure of knowing your name?"

"Emerald… Emerald Gleaner." Oskar answered smoothly, thinking about how Time Turner's name reflected his cutie mark.

"Such a beautiful name." Time Turner stated, thinking about her startlingly green eyes.

"Thank you!" Oskar said with a smile she was hoping wasn't starting to look forced. "Like I said earlier I'm new in town and I'm trying to find out if this town has a certain kind of establishment."

"I'd be delighted to help!" Time Turner replied. "What are you looking for?"

"Does this town have a library?" Oskar asked.

"Why yes it does!" Turning around Time Turner pointed down a street behind him. "You just take a right down there, take the second left and soon enough you'll see a large tree. That will be the library."

"Thank you so much!" Oskar said before giving Time Turner a hug. The colt stiffened and his eyes widened before a dopey smile replaced his expression. Unknown to him, small black tendrils extended from Oskar's fetlocks and took a few gene samples from his mane. Letting go of him, Oskar flashed the earth pony a quick smile before walking away. "Thank you again Time Turner!"

Time Turner watched her leave, dopey smile still firmly in place.

'_For a moment I thought I overdid it again and scared her off.'_ Time Turner thought as he stared at her, or rather what her walking was doing to a certain part of her anatomy. _'… so graceful, so beautiful.'_

Oskar continued on her way to Ponyville's library and was stared at the entire way. At first she thought it was because she was a stranger in a small town but the amount of attention she was getting was simply outrageous, it was completely driving her up the wall. There were some odd events though, whenever one of the watchers was being accompanied by a mare, said mare would immediately look insulted and give a smack to the colt with her hoof or drag him off by biting onto his ear.

'_This place is so very strange, alien even.'_ Oskar thought to herself._ 'It's going to be such a pain learning how to blend in here isn't it? Well maybe not that far, despite the attention I seem to be doing well so far, and I haven't even learned anything about the culture yet.'_

Soon enough the library came within view, causing Oskar tilted her head at the sight.

'_Huh… the tree is still alive.'_ Oskar thought. _'How did they manage that I wonder? Not to mention how they are handling the constant sap seepage and vermin problem such a place would have. I really hope there is an in depth answer to that, I'd be really disappointed if someone just told me MAGIC.'_

Shaking her head, Oskar walked over to the front door of the "tree house" and knocked with her hoof. She waited a few moments and knocked again, this time getting a muffled 'Coming!'

'_Wait… that voice…' _Oskar thought. _'It sounds familiar, where have I heard it before?'_

Oskar's musing ended with the door opening and reveling the librarian. Oskar's eyes widened and she became as still as a statue, in front of her was the one of the very mares she had seen bearing the magical artifacts.

"Umm… yes, hello?" Twilight Sparkle said a little unsurely at the strange unicorn staring wide eyed at her. "Are… are you okay?"

"O-oh! I'm sorry it's just…" Forcefully gaining control of herself, Oskar looked down at her hooves and made her face flush bright red in apparent embarrassment. "You see I'm new in town…"

"Oh what a coincidence, so am I!" Twilight gave a friendly smile to the unicorn that reminded her a little of her friend Fluttershy. "In fact I only just arrived here two days ago."

"Oh, really?" Oskar tilted her head at the violet unicorn. "So you've only just set up shop? I ask because I wanted to use the library but if the books are still packed…"

When Oskar mentioned that, Twilight had suddenly become starry eyed and was giving the secretly viral being a wide smile.

"Eeee, my first visitor!" The Element of Magic squealed before suddenly darting behind Oskar and "inviting" her inside.

"Ummm, you seem very eager." Oskar stated a little nervously as she was pushed inside. "Has no o-pony ever come here before?"

"Oh I've had visitors before but they were my friends and they weren't here for the books." Twilight replied, not catching Oskar's slight slip in her excitement. "This is the first time _anypony_ has come here for the library. Not that I mind having ponies come visit me but it was just so disconcerting to see the ponies here have so little regard for the literary arts."

Quickly catching on to Twilight's love of literature, Oskar decided to appeal to that portion of the unicorn's personality to get further into her good graces.

"Really? But books are the source of all civilization." Oskar stated with "surprised" eyes. "I would think that repository of knowledge like this would get you at least a dozen ponies coming here every day."

"That was exactly my thinking!" Twilight exclaimed happily. "Coming here to run the library, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to meet likeminded ponies like myself… unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case." Twilight quickly shook her head and gave Oskar a friendly smile. "Oh well, better late than never!"

'_Hook, line and sinker.'_ Oskar thought smugly as she returned Twilight's smile with her own.

"Here is the library." Twilight announced upon the both of them entering a room lined with book cases along the walls. The book loving unicorn then lead Oskar to a circular table near the center of the room. "Alright, are you familiar with how library books are organized or do you need help?"

"No thank you, I'm _very_ familiar with the system." Oskar answered. She actually had no say in the matter, how was she supposed to know that girl was a hard core librarian? If she had known she would have definitely reconsidered eating her as it had taken Oskar several months to work out all the OCD mannerisms.

"Great! Just grab whatever you are looking for; I'll just have something brought down to make you feel at home. Spi-" Twilight suddenly stopped her call mid shout as a thought struck her. "No, actually I'll get it myself."

With that Twilight left for her kitchen. Oskar quickly turned her attention to the bookcases and began searching for the sections containing the history and cartography books. She found them after a few moments of searching, inwardly very grateful for Steven knowing how to read Equestrian.

Bringing them to the circular table, Oskar began pouring over the cartography book first for maps of the known world. By the time Twilight had returned with a floating tray carrying a tea pot and two cups, Oskar had already finished studying the Equestrian landscape and had moved onto cities.

"Would you like some tea?" Twilight asked after setting the tray down.

"Why yes, thank you."

Twilight then poured a cup with her magic and levitated it over to Oskar and rather than take a hold of the cup with her own magic like the studious unicorn expected, had actually grabbed it with her hooves instead.

"It's very good, thank you." Oskar said after taking a sip.

"You are very welcome, err…" Twilight's curious eyes widened as she suddenly realized something. "You know what? In all the excitement we've forgotten to introduce ourselves!"

"That we have." Oskar replied with an amused smile, thinking about what _she_ considered excitement.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle." The violet unicorn introduced herself. "I use to live in Canterlot before coming here."

"My name is Emerald Gleaner." Oskar introduced herself in turn. "I remember Vanhoover being a home a while ago but I'm a traveling pony now." The viral being said, stating the actual truth… from a certain point of view.

"Really? I have relatives in Vanhoover." Twilight stated, smiling at fond memories. "Such a beautiful city, especially during winter. The only thing I never liked about the city was how cold it got during those months though."

"It's not so bad if you have the hide for it." Oskar replied with a wry smile before flipping a page with her hoof.

Twilight bit her lip as she saw Oskar not use her magic to turn the pages instead. The violet unicorn was really curious about why her new acquaintance was not using magic, of course she realised it could have simply been a personal choice on "Emerald's" part to forgo the use of magic in trivial things but she just had to know for sure.

"Emerald?"

"Yes Twilight?" Oskar replied while still studying the various districts of Los Pegasus.

"Why aren't you using magic when you do that?" Twilight asked. "When you flip the pages or drink from your cup I mean."

"M-my magic?!" Oskar said wide eyed before turning her head away from Twilight in shame, an utter act.

"Emerald?" Twilight exclaimed in surprise in the reaction. "Is something the matter, what's wrong?"

"… I don't know how to tell you this Twilight but… I'm uneducated…" Still looking away in fake shame, the sadness in Oskar's voice over her lack of magical knowledge was actually genuine though.

"What?!" Twilight said in utter shock. "But-but-but you can read!"

"I'm self-taught." Oskar replied quietly. It was true; by eating Steven Oskar had taught herself Equestrian.

"But that makes no sense!" Twilight shouted. "You shouldn't have needed to teach yourself to read! You should have been taught how to control your magic in school! What were your parents… thinking… oh…"

"… You're an orphan… aren't you, Emerald?" That question brought a full body shudder from Oskar… it was genuine. "…I'm sorry…"

"It's okay…" Oskar replied.

'_No it isn't! This is getting far too fucking personal!'_ The viral being thought as she seethed inwardly.

"… Can we just not talk about this anymore?" At this point Oskar was really trying not to let her anger seep even a little bit into her voice, even if it could be justified considering the situation. "Please?"

"Of course Emerald, I didn't mean to pry." Twilight replied softly. "… Would you like me to refill your cup?"

"Yes please… and thank you."

The next twenty or so minutes passed in silence save for the sounds of flipping pages, Twilight felt sorry for unknowingly bringing up painful memories for her fellow unicorn and did not wish to break it. After a few minutes of silence she did get up to retrieve a book for herself to read however and did so without her magic, not exactly eager to showcase her skills in front of her magically incapable fellow unicorn.

Absently listening to the sound of turning pages as she read, Twilight soon came to a realization, those pages were being turned very quickly. She would not have thought much of it if she did not know that Emerald was now reading through the text heavy history book. Looking up the violet unicorn watched Oskar flip a page and seemingly scan over the pages before flipping over to the next page within a minute.

"… Emerald, do you mind if I ask you a question?" Twilight ventured.

"…It depends on the question Twilight." Oskar replied with lips pursed into a thin frown.

"It's not about… y-you know…" Twilight quickly reassured. "I'm just wondering if you are looking for something in that book specifically. You are flipping through those pages awfully fast."

"I'm a speed reader and possess a photographic memory." Oskar replied with a pleased smile.

"Really?!" Twilight said in wonderment and in a little envy.

'_To be able to read so many books…' _Twilight thought to herself. _'I could conquer the royal library with ease!'_

"Yep!" Oskar answered. While all Blacklight beings had photographic memory and an instinctive means of cataloguing those memories for ease of access and storage, Oskar had improved upon the system by eating people smarter than she was. Specifically gaining the memories of people with knowledge in memory tricks and training. Her speed reading was the fastest in the world and appeared to retain that in this world as well, once again another skill that had been gained via Gentech prey and a surprising number of Black Watch grunts.

… Of course these skills were utterly useless in comparison to Oskar's _usual_ form of information gathering. The Cadre Evolved looked at Twilight.

'_It would be quick.'_ Oskar thought as Twilight smiled at her, thinking the solemn moment had finally passed. '_One little "friendly" hug and a quick twist, a sudden burst of pain is all she would feel. Even if I were off by a few inches and she survived the neck break, she would die quickly and mercifully soon after. I would gain skills in magic, all the cultural and historical information I would require. And to put the cherry on top… there would be one less bearer of those magical artifacts.'_

Taking a breath, Oskar reached over and pulled Twilight into a hug.

Twilight blinked in surprise as she was pulled into an unexpected embrace but did not resist. She felt Emerald wrap her forelegs around her neck and tighten them. It was starting to get to the point that it was beginning to feel painful and then… Emerald relaxed her grip with a sigh.

"Twilight?"

"Yes Emerald?"

"I'm sorry about being testy earlier." Oskar said, still wrapping the other unicorn in a hug. "It's just…"

"It's okay, I understand." Twilight replied. "Such a thing is not something anypony would want to even remember let alone talk about… you know it's strange…"

"Hmmm?"

"We only just met and I already know so much about you." The violet unicorn said with a small laugh.

"…Yes… yes you do…" The almost painful hug was back again and seemed to last longer this time. Twilight was about to voice her discomfort when Oskar finally relaxed and let go.

Forcing her features into a believable small smile for Twilight, Oskar turned her attention back to the book but did not begin reading immediately.

'_Dr. Mercer will be so disappointed when he finds out about this… Dr. Mercer will be utterly furious in my naiveté in letting her live…' _ Oskar thought in mounting panic. _'He'll consume me, consume her first then me slowly! Dr. Mercer will… __**Dr. Mercer**__ won't do anything because the Doctor is __**fucking **__out! The Doctor is __**fucking **__out__because the Doctor is __**FUCKING DEAD! **__Not only that, but his fucking corpse is a __**whole**__ fucking world away! He has no control __**OR**__ say in what __**I**__ want to do anymore! And if I want to do things the slow and hard way then so be it! This is no one else's concern but my own!'_

"Emerald?" Oskar managed to hear Twilight say through his internal ranting.

"Yes Twilight?" The viral being replied absently, a deep scowl on her face.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked. "You appear to be very angry all of the sudden."

"I'm fine Twilight." Oskar replied as she refocused herself and gave the other unicorn a reassuring smile. "Just some unhappy thoughts is all."

"Okay, I could make us some more tea if you want?"

"That would be marvelous, thank you."

**҉**

Several hours later Oskar had decided she was finished gathering information… for now at least. She would have been more than willing to stay here in the library all night to continue her research on the world she found herself in, but her host actually needed this little thing called sleep and Oskar figured it would be pushing more than a few hospitality boundaries trying to stay here all night.

Helping her fellow unicorn placing the books back in their shelves, Oskar turned her attention back to Twilight who was still marveling at the sure number of book volumes Oskar read through.

"Thanks again for letting me use the library Twilight." Oskar said.

"No, thank you!" Twilight replied with a smile. "It was so nice to spend time with another mare who likes books just as much as me!"

"Then you won't mind if come back tomorrow and use it again?" Oskar asked. "There are still some books I would like to read."

"Of course, it's no problem at all!" Twilight answered. "It's the whole point of the library after all and I'm looking forward to it even now."

"So see you tomorrow?" Oskar asked after walking to the door.

"See you tomorrow Emerald." Twilight replied after opening the door for her fellow unicorn and closing it after her.

Outside night had just recently fallen; the faint orange of the setting sun could still be seen on the far horizon as the moon began its accent into the sky.

'… _The moon…' _Oskar paused in thought as she started at said natural satellite. _'I've learned so much, almost too much to take in. I need time to myself, time to think and properly process my feelings on the information I now possess.'_

Oskar proceeded to walk across the street from Twilight's library and settled herself on a patch of grass. Crossing her forelegs, Oskar settled her head on them and began to think of what she learned.

Equestria was very different for the viral being that much was obvious from almost the moment he had arrived, yet… at the same time it was oddly familiar.

'_Los Pegasus, Filly delphia, Manehatten, if it wasn't for the fact that no one here knows about my world I would think the founders of those cities were going out of their way to be punny.' _Oskar thought with a snort. _'The buffalo remind me of Native Americans, the Zebras seem African, the "Asian" looking ponies have an obviously far east culture. The cultural parallels between my world and this are shockingly close despite this place being an entirely different world. Our histories don't seem to be eager to reflect each other at least…'_

Early in Equeatrian history the three pony races were divided into three tribes, the Unicorns, the Pegasi and the Earth Ponies. Each separate by their own distinctive magical abilities and their distrust and dislike of each other, at least until some spirits called Windigos forced each tribe to work together to drive them off. Personally that seemed a bit coincidental to Oskar, the books said Windigos fed on conflict but they seemed to be spirits and in every story he had read, didn't matter that the spirits were malicious, benevolent or outright mysterious they always had a deeper reason for their actions.

It was only until after the pony tribes had united into the Kingdom of Equestria that Discord came onto the scene. Discord had declared himself King of Equestria through force of his overwhelming magical abilities, beginning a "Dark Age" under his rule of "Tyranny". Oskar thought Equestria actually had it pretty good when it came to tyrants, sure Discord caused chaos, warped reality to satisfy his sense of humor and basically went out of his way to be a nuisance in all parts of the kingdom. But he was a saint compared to Mao, who later in his rule started to have young beautiful virgin girls sent to him because he thought having sex with them would make him live forever (It didn't), or Hitler who quite possibly only got in power because he kept pointing a finger at the Jews and giving the suffering German people a target to vent their frustrations on, or Stalin whose reign was applauded as a golden age for the Soviet Union, when actually his strangle hold on information and excessive use of propaganda made sure none of the "Less Equal" classes learned of how horrible conditions actually were for all of them. Oskar didn't see any mention of Discord having scores of pretty young mares brought to please him, or trying to place blame on the one of the minority species in Equestria, neither did Oskar see him try to even hide that he was the source of the chaos, Overall the viral being thought ancient Equestria didn't have the right to complain and call the chaotic being's reign a "Dark Age". In all likelihood Discord would have gotten bored eventually and left to do something different, at least that was what Oskar could discern of the Draconiquis' personality through the history books.

Later into the "Dark Age" came the first appearance of the Royal sisters and the Elements of Harmony. Intending to "save" the populace, the two Alicorns had confronted Discord, telling him to step down from the throne and end his "tyranny" peacefully or they would force him to. Discord being Discord, saw this as something new and amusing, so of course he didn't listen… much to his later regret Oskar was sure. The sisters had followed through with their threat, ending the Draconiquis' reign in one spell casted by the Elements of Harmony, petrifying Discord in the middle of his grand monologue. This portion of Equestrian history had interested Oskar enough to read the entire chapter over three times to make sure his memory of it was even sharper than usual, particularly the sections after the Royal Sisters were crowned Princesses of Equestria. The book made it very clear that the two rulers were goddesses of the sun and moon respectively, **goddesses**, as in divine beings of great power that were often depicted in fiction as neigh unstoppable engines of destruction when they got worked up.

'_C-could I even eat divine DNA?' _Oskar thought, now nervous at the idea of being anywhere near the two Alicorns. _'Do gods even have DNA that I could eat? What if the books are basic examples of historical propaganda?'_ Thoughts of a certain insane Korean dictator ran through the Cadre Evolved's head. _'No… I'm not going to assume otherwise, that way if I'm proven wrong I'll be feeling intense relief instead of dying a likely slow and painful death.'_

For the next few centuries of their reign, all was peaceful and made for some very boring reading since apparently Equestrian nobles went out of their way to prove they deserved their titles, of which their European counterparts didn't and thus had a rich exciting history of conflict, backstabbing, incest and war for the most _petty_ of reasons… granted it probably wasn't very great to live in such a time but at least it made for some exciting reading.

'_I can only imagine what the history teachers are like.'_ Oskar mused to herself with a smile. _'They'd probably give Professor Binns a run for his galleons with the sure boredom of their teaching material. I can almost imagine how a class would go now... "Greetings class and welcome to today's lecture. We shall begin with the three hundredth signing of the treaty of ongoing peace between Equestria and the Gryphon Principalities, and how everypony celebrated the preservation of peace throughout the known world… again…" At least Binns talks about wars and rebellions!' _Oskar thought with a small laugh.

It was only after reading through several chapters describing an utterly boring age of peace and prosperity that Oskar finally came to another exciting event in Equestrian history, Princess Luna's betrayal and her rechristening herself Nightmare Moon. Apparently the Goddess of the moon did not like how her own subjects would not change their natural and healthy sleeping cycles to admire her nights, and so went completely and utterly around the bend by making the night last forever. Thus ensuring that if Celestia did not stop her sister soon, all plant life would die without the sun and by extension, all life on Equestria itself would end without the base which supported it.

'_Seriously, why did the book not mention that? At all?' _Oskar thought in confusion. _'You'd think one person's selfish and petty actions nearly killing the planet would get some attention yet there was no mention of this little fact anywhere in the chapter.'_

Once again the Elements of Harmony were used to save Equestria and in reality the whole world as well. And once again they were victorious with Nightmare Moon barely able to let off one spell before she was banished to the moon for all time… at least until a day or so ago… After performing the banishment of her sister it seemed Celestia was somehow unable to bear the Elements of Harmony. So she had left them in their inert state in the soon to be abandoned palace, claiming that ponies worthy of bearing them would release them from the stone they were encased in one day.

'_Okay… now that I know better, maybe the situation I witnessed was not as bad as I made it out to be.' _Oskar thought as she recalled the confrontation in the ruins. _'Still it seems a little off that Princess Luna was let off so lightly… I mean the girl nearly killed EVERYTHING yet one little sorry later and all is forgiven? The closest thing to this I could think of would if the Allies had managed to capture Hitler and was about to put him in one of his own gas chambers when he burst into tears saying how sorry he was, causing them to let him go saying that two little words made up for all the genocide and warfare.'_

What followed next was even worse than the age when both the Royal sisters were ruling… A THOUSAND years of peace and harmony throughout the known world, which meant _nothing_ interesting happened. It took all of Oskar's concentration to not fall asleep on one of the books describing in VAST detail the peace and prosperity.

'_Ugh, I feel sleepy just thinking about it.'_ Oskar thought irritably. _'I never felt so glad for having been a part of such an imperfect species as humanity. The legacy I may leave behind may not be pretty to look at but at least it'll be something that future generations will read action novels and watch movies about. The sure lack of conflict in this land speaks very well of my chances of never being caught though, I could only imagine the "benefits" a thousand years of peace must have for a military's development.' _Oskar thought with a sardonic smile.

"Emerald?"

'_Hm?'_

Oskar cracked open an eye and say Twilight standing before her with a worried look on her face.

"Yes Twilight?" Oskar replied, faking a yawn. "Is there something I could help you with?"

"Why are you sleeping out here, exposed like this?" Twilight asked with a frown.

"I'm a traveling pony, Twilight." Oskar answered truthfully. "I don't have any money for a room, not that I need one. I get my food and water from the wild; if it rains I know how to make sure I stay dry. So why are you out here Twilight? It's getting pretty late, wouldn't want to wake up still tired now."

"I was just doing a little reading before going to bed when I looked out the window and saw you lying here." Twilight replied. "I really don't think you should be lying out here in the open like this Emerald, plus I don't think the ponies here will appreciate waking up to see some strange unicorn on sleeping on their yard."

"True enough I suppose." Oskar replied as she got up. "I guess I'll go find an alley or maybe find a tree to sleep beside outside of town. See you Twilight."

"Wait!" Twilight called out as Oskar began walking off. "You don't have to do that, if you want I can get a spare bed ready in my room. Then you won't to sleep out in the cold."

"Really Twilight, you'd do that?" Oskar asked with a smile.

'_Ahhh, altruism… how __**useful**__.' _Oskar thought with glee.

"You know they have a saying…" Oskar said as she approached Twilight. "A friend in need is a friend indeed."

"Friends?" Twilight asked as she offered her hoof.

"Friends." Oskar answered as she placed her hoof against Twilight's.

With that the two unicorns made their way into library.

"Just stay down here a moment." Twilight said before ascending the stairs to her room. "I'll get a spare bed in place."

Oskar did as she told and absently looked around. She blinked when she looked through a doorway to see a dogs basket in the far corner of the room with something green lying in it. Just as she was about to investigate she heard Twilight call her up.

"Emerald, the beds ready!"

Seeing the green shape shift and move in the basket, Oskar reluctantly answered the call and moved up the stairs. She stopped in the middle of the stairs when she remembered something. In the library Oskar remembered seeing a set of steps leading to a sort of landing that had bed atop of it along with some book cases.

'_Twilight has more than one bedroom?' _Oskar thought as she continued up the stairs. _'Classy…'_

"So I noticed you have more than one bed." Oskar stated as she walked through the door of Twilight's bedroom. "As in more than just two."

"Oh you noticed that?" Twilight replied, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Well I have this bad habit of reading well beyond the hour I'm supposed to and ending falling asleep on a table or a desk. So since I own this library I thought I'd just put a bed up there for when it eventually happens again."

"You can afford to do that?"

"Well no, I just transfigured something into a copy of my bed here." Twilight answered, indicating the bed she stood by. Oskar looked over and saw on the opposite end of the room was a bed that was the exact same as Twilight.

"Wish I could do that…" Oskar said in total honestly.

Twilight winced. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to transfigure a bed for Emerald when she thought about it. It would have probably been better to just give the one in the library for her to sleep in for the night rather than rub her lack of magical skill in her face… oh well, too late now.

Oskar walked over to her bed and stared at it unsurely.

'_Okay, I'm probably going to utterly shatter this thing with my weight, quick Oskar think of something!' _The viral being told herself, intent on avoiding some rather awkward questions. _'… Crap! I can't think of anything that wouldn't sound strange or stupid!'_

Pulling back the blanket Oskar began to slowly eased herself into the bed, fully and completely aware that it was useless in the face of her sure density. With a barely heard creak Oskar lied on the bed and waited a moment… then two… then three…

"Soft enough?" Twilight asked upon seeing Oskar's surprised expression.

"You won't believe how long it's been since I've slept in anything even approaching a bed." Oskar replied genuinely.

"Well you're sleeping in one now." Twilight said with a sad frown. "I know you said you're a traveling pony but do you really have to live like that?"

"Remember what I said earlier?" Oskar said as she turned away in the bed and pulled the blanket up. "I'm an uneducated unicorn that can only light up her horn half competently. Who would want to hire me…?"

Sighing sadly Twilight tucked herself into her own bed as well.

"Good night Emerald." Twilight said before putting out the candle lights with her magic.

"Good night Twilight." Oskar replied.

Out of the two unicorns that went to bed in that room only one was going to sleep that night. Oskar spent the next twenty or so minutes listening intently on Twilight's heartbeat as she went to sleep. Eventually she heard the other unicorn's heart slow down to a tempo that she roughly guessed as her being now asleep.

Slowly getting up from the surprisingly sturdy bed, Oskar watched Twilight's sleeping form carefully as she walked out of the room and towards the stairs.

About a minute later the viral being in disguise was back in the library and searching the bookcases for a specific volume, her eyes more than capable of making out the text in the near pitch black. Eventually she found what she was looking for and brought the book to the circular table. The book was green and had gold letters making up its title: Bestiary Volume I: Beasts of the Badlands.

**҉**

The morning sun rose in the sky, its light shining through Twilight's bedroom window and waking the sleeping unicorn. Rubbing her eye clear of sleep and yawning loudly, turned her attention to the bed where her new friend was supposed to be sleeping.

"Good morning Em-" Twilight stopped when she saw the empty bed and the covers thrown aside. "… rald. Huh, where did she go?"

It was then that Twilight noticed that she could hear voices coming from downstairs. The violet unicorn proceeded to freshen up a bit and clean up her morning mane before heading downstairs

The voices seemed to be coming from the library and as Twilight got closer she began to be able to make them out.

"… been taking care of you before she could take care of herself?" Twilight heard Emerald's voice say.

"Yep!" She heard Spike's voice reply. "Heh, she's dedicated like that."

"I'll say, at that age my own mother could barely trust me in the same room as the cookie jar." Emerald's voice replied. "Let alone trust me to take care of somepony else."

Walking around the corner and into the library, Twilight was greeted by the sight of Emerald sitting on a chair chatting with Spike. The circular table behind her held a stack of read books and one still open.

"Good morning Twilight." Emerald greeted upon seeing Twilight enter the library.

"Morning Twi!" Spike greeted as well.

"Good morning you two." The unicorn replied before turning her attention on Emerald. "When did you get up Emerald?"

"Eh, a couple hours ago." Emerald answered with a shrug.

"Well I better start on breakfast." Spike said before turning to Emerald Gleaner. "Are you going to stay for it?"

"No, I'm going to leave in just a bit." Emerald replied to Spike who nodded and left for the kitchen.

"A few hours ago?" Twilight repeated with a confused look. "Did you get any sleep at all Emerald? Weren't you telling me just last night that it's not healthy to stay up late?"

"There are those who need only two, four hours tops, of sleep and they're good for the next twenty." Emerald replied with a smile.

"And you are one of these ponies?" Twilight asked and got a wider smile as an answer. "You know Emerald, the more I learn about you the more I realize how terrible it was that you never got to go to school. You would have been the best student there; they would have likely identified you as a prodigy and sent you off to the best school in Equestria. There wouldn't have been an employer in all Equestria that would have turned you down and you would have been set for life instead of… well, _this_."

"You make it sound like I'm suffering and begging on the streets for bits." Emerald commented with an amused smile. "My life wasn't as bad as you think it is Twilight."

"Maybe… but the fact you never got to go to school is a heinous crime!" Twilight stated firmly. "And what you said to Spike earlier, you're not going to stay for breakfast?"

"Nope!" Emerald answered as she took the stack of books and placed them back on one of the book cases. "It may sound cheesy but I can feel the call of the road and adventure in the wilds."

"Oaky but you'll be back right?" Twilight asked as she followed her follow unicorn to the front door. "It was nice having somepony I could talk about books to."

"Of course Twilight!" Emerald reassured with a smile. "In fact between road trips this place will be considered my base of operations from now on! So don't worry I'll be back soon… maybe in a week or so?"

"Anyway…" Emerald walked out the front door but looked back over her shoulder with an amused smile. "I'll see you soon Twiley!"

Twilight blinked as she watched her new friend walk down the early morning street. Only one pony her that, her brother. Giving the leaving unicorn one last smile Twilight closed the door and walked back into the library. She was just going past when she noticed an open book sitting on the circular table.

'_Huh, Emerald must have forgotten to put this away with the others.'_ Twilight thought as she picked the book up and glanced at the cover. _'Bestiary Volume VIII: Entities of Everfree? I wonder why Emerald was reading this book?'_

Putting the thought away Twilight quickly placed the book back on the shelf and headed to the dining table, it wouldn't take very long for spike to finish cooking breakfast. Sitting at the table Twilight waited patiently but her thoughts were plagued by unknown worries about the book Emerald was reading.

'_Why is this bothering me so much?' _Twilight thought to herself._ 'It's just… something she said and finding out about this book but what is it?'_

"…_It may sound cheesy but I can feel the call of the road and adventure in the wilds…"_ A memory whispered in Twilight's mind.

'_She was reading that Bestiary about Everfree…'_ Twilight mused as Spike came from the kitchen with a plate of mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables for Twilight and a bowl of mixed gems for himself. _'No! She couldn't have gone there, it's far too dangerous! Everypony knows tha-'_

"…_I don't know how to tell you this Twilight but… I'm uneducated…" _Another memory whispered.

"Gosh darn it Emerald!" Twilight shouted in wide eyed panic.

"Whoa!" Spike said defensively. "Twilight I know mixed gems isn't exactly a breakfast meal but… Twilight?"

Spike was left staring as the violet unicorn in question left in a sudden burst of speed that Rainbow Dash would have been impressed by.

Out on the streets of Ponyville Twilight was galloping as fast as she could but was soon slowing down.

'_Okay calm down!'_ Twilight told herself. _'Maybe I'm overreacting, maybe I only think Emerald is going into Everfree forest. She is probably just on the road to Apple Loosa of someplace else, I'll probably end up catching up end up catching up to her and she'll think I'm silly for thinking she'd go somewhere so dangerous. Here, just to prove my point I'll ask a pony if they have seen her.'_

Twilight proceeded to look around herself but most ponies were still having breakfast at this time. Fortunately there seemed to be one that wasn't. An earth pony with a hour glass cutie mark and a large dreamy smile on his face.

"Excuse me?" Twilight said as she approached the colt with a dopey smile. "Could I ask you a question?"

"Why yes, of course." Time Tuner replied, shaking his head clear of thoughts. "How can I help you?"

"You see I'm looking for a unicorn." Twilight began. "She has a white coat, a pink mane and tail-"

"Beautiful green eyes and this enchanting bucket full of emeralds cutie mark?" Time Turner interrupted, his dreamy smile returning.

"Yes! Have you seen where she went?" Twilight asked. "It's really important that I find her."

"She went that way." Time Turner pointed a street… which also happened to be in the direction of Everfree.

"You did go there!" Twilight shouted. "I can't believe you'd do something so dangerous Emerald!"

"… Dangerous?" Time Turner questioned but was too late, Twilight had already teleported in a flash to Fluttershy's cottage.

**҉**

Oskar was walking along a thin trail in the Everfree forest. She was currently on the hunt and the trail she was taking seemed to be leading her to her prey.

'_Viral Sonar, I do love you so.'_ Oskar thought to herself as she sent out another pulse. _'I don't know how you work but if you were an actually person I'd marry you, if you were a guy I'd turn myself into a woman for you.'_

Eventually she came close enough to her target that she could hear its breathing and the sound of it moving on the forest floor. Walking through the barrier of underbrush Oskar finally sighted her prey just two dozen feet away.

A chimera.

The chimera itself was lying beside a large tree, licking its paws clean of a fresh kill. When it had spotted the pony creature entering its territory, it had intended to release a growl to make it run scuttling back to its false dens outside the forest. But then the chimera had seen the eyes and the stance of the pony creature. Everything about how the pony stared and stood screamed **PREDATOR**, it was enough for the chimera to actually want to run away like the prey beasts it hunted in these woods. But it was a chimera, though it was only part lion the great beast still had the pride of one. If this unnerving pony creature wanted to challenge it then the chimera would accept as its pride would accept nothing less.

Seeing the chimera get up and get ready to run at her, Oskar smiled.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty~" Oskar taunted. "I want that tail of yours for my collection~"

Letting loose a loud roar the chimera charged forward, quickly covering half the two dozen feet between it and Oskar and pouncing the rest.

Just as the claws and mass of the large beast was about come down atop of Oskar there was a sudden surge of black tendrils that quickly formed a barrier. Landing against the barrier the chimera suddenly yowled in pain as a series of spikes leapt from the barrier and into its flesh. The beast quickly pushed itself off the barrier wobbled backwards on its hind legs, blood staining coat and carapace from its many puncture wounds.

The barrier quickly gave way in another surge of tendrils, revealing Oskar back in his default form. The bucket hatted Evolved quickly shot forward while the chimera was still off balance, his arms reforming into brutal razor sharp claws in a surge of tendrils.

Before the beast could react Oskar lashed out with both claws, suddenly it was lacking two arms. The Evolved quickly gave a vicious kick to the chimera's stomach, sending it crashing onto its back, helpless. He gave a short hop into the air, stomping onto the downed beast's stomach, causing incredible and mortal injuries from his sure weight alone. The chimera quickly began throwing up the half-digested contents of its stomach along with great amounts of blood, coating Oskar in all of it. The Cadre Evolved paid no attention to the bloody bile covering his form as tendrils leapt off his skin and began feasting on the foreign organic matter; bio-matter was bio-matter after all.

Bringing down one of his massive bladed fingers, Oskar quickly sliced through the chimera's sternum as the beast itself began gurgling out its last breath. Gripping the inside of the chimera's ribcage, Oskar tore it open in one violent movement before his form quickly began dissolving into a mass of tendrils. The tendrils quickly descended into the beasts open chest cavity and began to feast as the chimera finally released a gurgling death rattle.

The corpse of the chimera began to twitch as tendrils moved beneath the surface if its hide and consumed everything. Suddenly two massive tendrils erupted from the bloody arm sockets of the corpse and latched onto the dismembered arms, pulling them back into the sockets. Finally the entire body turned black for a brief moment before the normal colors returned revealing the body in a pristine state.

Oskar rolled onto his stomach and began examining the paws of his new form a moment before rising to his feet in one smooth motion. He then began walking deeper into the forest, intent on making use on his now improved knowledge of it and the creatures within.

The field in which the chimera was killed and consumed remained empty save for the huge bloodstain in the center, until about after a minute or two after Oskar's departure when two voices could heard approaching the clearing.

"Come on Fluttershy!" Twilight called out. "If we hurry we can still catch up before she gets hurt!"

"Twilight, please keep your voice down…" Fluttershy whispered hoarsely. "There's no telling what might hear you!"

The two mares had managed to follow the path Oskar had taken into the woods thanks to her heavy weight making her hoof prints extra deep and easy to see. Twilight would have gotten the rest of her friends but she was deathly afraid for the life of her newest one and settled for Fluttershy who had experience with Everfree and the creatures within.

"I'm sorry Fluttershy!" Twilight replied as she burst through a layer of bushes. "But I'm just worried for… no… oh no…"

It was terrible sight for the two mares to see, having lived all their lives sheltered from blood and violence by the peaceful world they lived in. It was even worse for Twilight who could see "Emerald's" hoof prints leading to prints that clearly belonged to a chimera, the point of which they met was the massive bloodstain in the clearing. With only the prints of the chimera leading away, it painted a clear and vivid picture for Twilights imagination.

"No… NO… NO!" Twilight said in a horrified voice before her horn and eyes suddenly lit up with her magic. With an angered growl the enraged unicorn intended to follow the chimera tracks leading away when Fluttershy darted in front of her.

"Twilight please calm down!" The pegasus pleaded her furious friend.

"That… that… THING KILLED MY FRIEND!" Twilight screamed out, her horn alighting with more magic as she intended to teleport past her deeply worried friend when she suddenly wrapped her fore legs around Twilight's neck.

"Twilight I know!" Fluttershy said, her forelegs wrapped tightly to make she was brought along too if Twilight did teleport. "But you don't know what out there! There are dangerous animals that can really hurt you Twilight! Please Twilight, you won't be doing Emerald any good if you… if you end up like… just please don't GO!"

The utterly furious unicorn's breaths came in deep loud. This lasted several moments with her horn and eyes lit up like beacons in the night, then with one shuddering breath her magic went away. Revealing Twilight's tear filled eyes.

"… Let's go…" Twilight said numbly, letting Fluttershy lead her away.

**҉**

It was now much later in the day, with the sun beginning its decent beyond the horizon. Twilight's had spent all day at home in grief for a friend she just made and just lost. Her other friends had visited Twilight over the entirety of the day supporting Twilight though they only just heard of the mare she had just made friends with. Strangely enough Twilight also received visits from several colts in town that even seemed just as aggrieved as she was for Emerald's death. It was finally at the very end of the day that Twilight decided to do something productive. She wrote a letter.

_Dear princess Celestia_

_Today I learned that you should always appreciate every moment you have with you friends. Whether that friend was only recently made or even there from early in childhood it doesn't matter. Every moment must be cherished despite it. Because you never know when they might be taken from you forever and you'll never have another new moment with them ever again._

_Your Loyal Student_

_Twilight Sparkle_

Giving a sigh and not bothering with the tear stains that dotted the letter, Twilight handed the scroll over to Spike to send to Celestia. The sole faced baby dragon accepted the letter and quickly sent it away with a belch of green flames.

"Are you gonna be okay Twilight?" Spike asked softly.

"… Ask me a question I can answer Spike…" Twilight replied tiredly. "I think I'll go to sleep early today. Wake me in the morning when breakfast is ready."

"Sure thing Twi…" Spike answered as the violet unicorn made her way up the stairs to the master bedroom.

Upon entering her rarely used bedroom, Twilight could not help but stare at the still conjured bed Emerald had slept briefly in last night.

'_I didn't know life could be so cruel and unfair to anypony…' _Twilight thought as she shuffled over to her bed. _'But she was the proof it could. Orphaned at a young age, never went to school despite her immense potential and never really had home. The moment she even had something close to one… she dies… it's not fair…'_

Twilight lied in her bed, softly crying for some time until the sun finally set. Then with a sudden flash of light she felt a presence appear behind her. She looked up to see Princess Celestia's kindly face looking down at her.

"My most cherished student." Celestia said softly. "Tell me what happened."

And so Twilight did.

**-TBC-**

AN: Hmmm... seems a little mushy to me near the end. Oh well, these ponies are such innocent creatures after all but I hope I got Twilight's character down. If anyone has noticed, in my other story I don't exactly have to worry about Twilight's character so it is a personal concern if I got her down.


	3. Chapter 3: Return

AN: Guest: Look at Lorrak's review

Lorrak: Hit the nail on the head and your game is over, you win!

P.S You guys really ought to get a profile, that way you'll get emails notifying you of when this is updated and I can reply to your reviews there rather then here.

A hydra trundled along on its way through the swamp. Prey had become scarce recently and the massive beast decided to move to a new area in hopes that a new hunting ground would be more plentiful. Maybe if it were more intelligent it would wonder why the prey of the Everfree woods had suddenly gone into hiding, but it wasn't and so it didn't.

It continued lumbering along it path to a new stomping ground when one of its heads happened to look at a boulder off to the far side. On the boulder was what appeared to be some sort of unmoving creature. Immediately the head warbled to the others to attract their attention and gestured to the boulder it spotted.

All the other heads spotted what could be a potential meal and began lumbering towards it in interest. A few lumbering stomps later and the beast came to a stop in front of what was an odd looking but apparently dead creature. It wore cloths like the pony creatures that lived outside the forest but had a similar shape to the more intelligent and larger dog creatures that occasionally moved through the woods, though its forelegs were shorter and frailer looking then what the dog creatures had. It seemed this frailness did this creature no favors as it lay unmoving on boulder, its own blood staining the surface it lay on. The hydra head that had spotted the body closed in and gave an experimental sniff of the corpse and nudged it a few times. Seemingly satisfied that the creature actual was dead, the hydra head picked it up with its mouth before quickly swallowing it in one bite.

The head quickly rose back up to its fellows as it licked its lips and had a thoughtful expression on its face. The other hydra heads stared in open curiosity before the aforementioned hydra head looked to its brother heads and tilted itself in an approximation of a shrug.

The hydra was about to be back on its way before its stomach starting gurgling, loudly. The hydra heads themselves began to groan in pain as they curled in close to their body but the pain would not abate and seemed to grow more and more intense by the second. Suddenly the eyes of each hydra head widened in shock before they all released an agonised scream before falling silent and fall over with a crash. The entire body of the now still hydra started twitching unnaturally and if one were to stand near one of the heads they would be able to hear the sound of tearing flash. Suddenly out from nostrils, ears and around the eyes came many black tendrils surging forth. After leaving the body the tendrils quickly gathered together at one point in the middle of the now dead hydra's back and combined into a shapeless mass. Before long the default form of Oskar Osäker appeared in a cross legged position atop the hydra corpse.

'_Hmph, you'd think an animal would know better than to eat something strange.'_ Oskar mused. _'Well they are not totally without instinct… the animals have been going into hiding ever since my arrival yesterday. Oh well… I can still track them into their dens so it doesn't matter… well for the most part anyway…'_

Oskar had spent the whole of yesterday hunting down various creatures and species in Everfree. While He could have settled for just one of each, but there was always the chance that, genetically speaking, there was that one creature that won the lottery when it came to inheritable traits. So Oskar had made sure he had consumed at least half a dozen examples of each species for genetic variety.

So far the viral being had consumed most if not all the examples of the normal species that inhabited the woods… if one could call the sure un-animalistic intelligence these creatures possessed _normal_. For example the animals back home relied on pure instinct to get through their day to day lives, not these _animals_, nope! They made plans for little get togethers with friends, they actually cared about what they ate beyond if it would kill them to eat it, and instead of simply proving they are the biggest toughest males they actually have far deeper relationships with the opposite sex. It just went further to prove how different Equestria was from Earth… it was also a nasty surprise discovering these things for the first time when Oskar ate a young buck psyching himself to give a pretty doe he liked flowers. Needless to say the Cadre Evolved was far more careful when handling the memories of consumed animals from there on then.

Then there were the predators and _other_ creatures of the woods. There were normal predators like wolves but there were beasts like the hydra he just consumed and the chimera that he ate on arriving here. These were obviously magical or unnatural at the least and were giving him quite a few interesting traits. Like for instance, the wings of the chimera. While it never allowed the beast to truly fly it did allow it to glide and make pounces from extreme heights with ease, with this Oskar's ability to glide was improved upon a bit, even more so if he actually generated the wings. The sprites ability to rapidly reproduce also helped his own ability to regenerate himself on a cellular level; this improvement was extremely useful when it came to larger forms like a chimera, sea serpent or a hydra since it allowed him to not only generate the needed excess mass for the size but keep up his own density with _supernatural _ease… not that the Blacklikght being wasn't supernatural enough. The quarray eel was an extremely large eel that burrowed its home into rock and cliff faces, it had extremely strong jaw muscles and teeth to borrow but its neck muscles were even stronger, a necessity considering its preferred method of hunting being shooting out of its burrow to eat whatever passes by. These traits held great potential so Oskar took them and enhanced his already monstrous strength. However out of the many magical creatures he hunted, two had managed to avoid becoming prey to the viral being.

'_Slippery little buggers…' _Oskar frowned, thinking of his failed attempts to track down a cockatrice. '_I can't seem to be able to track them with the sonar, just like that bastard Roland. I'll find one eventually though, it'll just take more time and effort then I had thought necessary. The same goes for those timber wolves, though for completely different reasons.'_

Oskar had actually stumbled upon a timber wolf pack by accident. He was stalking a group of deer to consume and had followed them into a clearing. The clearing held a rather oddly large amount of sticks and logs, cut and uncut alike, but Oskar had put that aside for the moment and was about to leap towards the unsuspecting deer when it happened. The bits of wood started shaking and rattling for several moments, startling the deer but before they could run the wood suddenly flew into the air and suddenly six large wolves shaped of logs and branches were surrounding them. Oskar had kept his distance as the unnatural wolves began tearing into their prey, watching in interest.

'_I now regret not taking those vials of Tobacco Mosaic when I had the chance.'_ Oskar groused. _'Other than the odd blade of grass here and there I have practically no experience eating plant matter. There were plenty of bioweapons directed towards crops in those labs, why didn't I take at least one? Oh right… because I was fighting people not plants, how the tables have turned… oh well, I'll just have to find some termites for cellulose digesting bacteria.' _The viral being thought with a shrug. _'Later though… hmmm, let's take another look at my new earth pony magic.'_

Compared to unicorn or even pegasus magic earth pony magic was very simple and straight forward, it just made earth ponies stronger and faster as well as attune them with the earth, hence the name. And instead of being focused in one area like the other two pony races, the magical "circuitry" was spread very evenly throughout the body of the earth pony. The more Oskar looked at it the more he was reminded by Ki, the mystical energies of the body used in the Dragon Ball series… of course the difference here was that earth ponies couldn't shoot giant energy beams, just get stronger and faster and not in the massive leaps and bounds like aforementioned anime series.

'_Good thing this magic is so straightforward.' _Oskar mused. _'I don't need anything else to make this little "acquisition" useful unlike unicorn magic. I just implant the circuitry and go! And… I think my absolute bodily control actually makes me better at using earth pony magic then earth ponies themselves … yep, pretty sure. Hmmm, let's see… I don't really feel a drain or anything but then again I'm not too sure what I'm supposed to feel for… well that settles it, I need information, namely personal information. It is time to hunt a master of magic.'_

With a black surge of tendrils Emerald Gleaner appeared and leapt down from the hydra corpse. She quickly bolted towards the forest proper to make her way directly to Canterlot. Her running reaching ever higher speeds then before thanks to her now magically enhanced viral body.

**҉**

A little later in the same day Oskar was now standing before the busy gates of Canterlot. This was the capital of Equestria and the home of the goddesses of the sun and moon… needless to say Oskar wasn't feeling too confident. Especially considering she seemed to be getting even more attention here then back in Ponyville and she wasn't even in the city yet! Of course once again this attention was purely made up of colts… Oskar may have been too good in selecting the genes for "Emerald Gleaner"…

Doing her best to ignore the many stares she was getting Oskar walked through the gates of Canterlot as calmly as she could. She walked through and everywhere she looked she seemed to find at least one pony looking at her, hearing her heart beat loudly in her ear Oskar began taking deep breaths before focusing on losing attention. She began looking down streets and immediately started trotting down one of the busier ones, intent on losing herself in a crowd. It took some effort and it seemed like the ponies around her were going out of their way to make sure she wasn't going to be another face in the crowd but eventually she managed it, though she still was feeling very nervous.

Deciding to clear her thoughts and focus on the matter at hand, Oskar quickly found a bench in front of what appeared to be a bakery and took a seat with a sigh.

'_Okay come on Oskar, calm down!' _The Cadre Evolved told herself. _'You've done stuff like this before! Just imagine you're infiltrating Red Crown again… only instead of viral detectors and Orions around every corner there are two immensely powerful beings that could probably incinerate you in an instant. Okay… this is not working!'_

"Ma'am, are you alright?" A concerned voice asked.

Jolted out of her thoughts, Oskar looked up to see a white coated pegasus with a blue mane and cutie mark that appeared to be a wing attached to a hilt, looking down at her. She quickly forgot her nervousness and set her highly intelligent mind to work in the face of potentially getting her cover blown. She quickly noted his stance and the tone of his voice when he spoke; his stance spoke of confidence and strength while his voice was calm and had sounded very formal. Oskar quickly guessed he must be a member of the local military or law enforcement at the very least.

"O-oh it's nothing, I'm just new to the city and feeling very nervous!" Oskar replied, replicating a nervous tone of voice while making use of the fact the form she was in was female. "M-my name is Emerald Gleaner, I just came here to get some information on local retired masters of magic for a report."

"Well miss you very fortunate to be speaking to a currently off duty Royal Guard." The pegasus said as he smiled reassuringly at the pretty and shy unicorn. "I'm Razor Wing, a pegasus in her majesty's Royal Guard. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have on the master unicorns, as many of them were once Royal Guards themselves."

"You will? Thank you!" Oskar said in honest happiness as she scooted aside on the bench for him, which he took with a smile. "I was hoping to be able to ask one of the Royal Guard on our most famed masters of magic."

"Of course, what would you like to know, Emerald?" Razor Wing asked.

"Well first of all." Oskar began. "Who would be considered the most powerful?"

"Ah, that would be Silver Light." Razor answered. "He was a Royal Guard well into his sixties before finally retiring twenty years ago."

"Twenty years? He must have been a really impressive unicorn." Oskar replied.

"He was, from what I heard from the older guards that were under his command." Razor Wing answered with a smile. "He was a very strong willed pony, also very devoted to his work… some might say he was married to it if it weren't for the fact he was already married to a mare."

"What is he up to now?" Oskar asked.

"Well he recently wrote a book on magical combat but…" The Royal Guard frowned solemnly as he gathered his thoughts. "Unfortunately Silver Light's age has begun to catch up to him. He is currently ill in bed from a fever."

"Oh no…" Oskar said in false sadness, bringing up a hoof to her mouth. "Is… is he going to be alright?"

"I'm fairly certain." Razor said with a firm nod. "He is a strong old unicorn… but I have heard he is bed ridden until further notice."

"Oh…" Oskar replied as she put on a sad expression for Razor Wing's benefit. "That's really too bad… I hope he gets better. A loyal servant of her majesty Princess Celestia deserves far better."

'_Jack pot!' _The viral being thought with a mental smirk. _'Here I thought I'd have to do something risky and try to ambush a master when they would hopefully be off guard. But now I only have to deal with a bed ridden one! Might as well place him on a silver platter and get it over with.'_

Razor studied the unicorn sitting beside him. She was a pretty little thing with her coat white as snow, her eyes as green as her own namesake and her mane a bright vibrant shade of pink. Even now as her thoughts were obviously elsewhere she was very cute, her thoughtful frown only adding to the appeal. The pegasus started hoping fervently that the mare before him was not spoken for but considering how beautiful she looked, she probably was.

'_Whoever he is, he'd be one of the luckiest stallions I've seen.'_ Razor thought as Emerald refocused her attention on him.

"This is really sad news." Oskar replied to the softly smiling pegasus. "I was really hoping to ask some more questions but I'm not in the mood anymore…. I thank you for your time Razor Wing. You were really helpful but I should be going, I think I have something really important to check on."

"Of course it's no problem at all." The off duty guard replied but before Oskar could walk away he quickly added. "Perhaps I could show you around Canterlot later though? You said you were new and I'd like to make sure you knew how to get around the city without any troubles. Maybe in a couple hours from now?"

'_Hmmm… now that is not a bad idea, it would be pretty stupid to add on some more baggage just to learn how to get around after all.'_ Oskar thought, missing the nervous but hopeful expression on Razor Wing's face. _'My alibi of not being from here allows me ask things that most would consider strange. Yes, I could get much out of this. I said it once I'll say it again! Altruism… how __**useful**__!'_

"I'd like that a lot Razor Wing, perhaps were could meet at…" Oskar quickly looked at the clock within the bakery behind them. "Four o'clock?"

'_Now then on to important matters.' _Oskar thought to herself. _'Now that I know this Silver Light is ill in bed and not in a condition to put up a fight, I can focus on figuring out how to end him in a way that would look like an accident… or maybe something else… hmmm… that could work… maybe…'_

"Then it's a date!" Razor replied happily. "And you can just call me Razor if you want."

"Mmm hmm, sure…" Oskar replied absently, not really listening. "I have to leave now but I'll be back later at four. See you then."

"See you then Emerald!" Razor Wing shouted at the now leaving unicorn. And when he deemed her a far enough distance away he gave a victorious arm pump to his left foreleg while hissing out a 'Yes!'

_Hmmm… okay this may or may not work.' _Oskar thought as she walked along the streets. _'I need to make sure the death is not suspicious… so causing a fire may be not the most brilliant option. It's too bad embalming fluid wouldn't preserver the brain enough for me to consume it properly... wait; I don't really know how dead bodies are handled here. Plus they use magic for everyday activities… maybe they are able to preserve the body in such a way I can still gain the memories? Okay so I have two choices here, I could take the fire option which will ensure I get the memories but may attract suspicion, or I could take the "natural death" option, which will mean there will be no suspicion but has the risk of me losing the memories… I need more information, off to the hospital.'_

Destination in mind, Oskar turned to the nearest pony to ask for directions.

"Excuse me sir?"

"Yes young mare?" An earth pony with a fifties radio announcer voice replied. He had a gray coat with a black mane and brown eyes. He was also wearing a brown fedora and the side burns appearing from under it had streaks of white in it. His cutie mark was an old fashioned micro phone.

"Do you know the way to the hospital?" Oskar asked.

"Why of course." The earth pony replied cheerfully. "You just head down that street there, take the second left, head down that street until the fifth right and on the third left down that street you should see the hospital at the very end. You got all that kid?"

"All memorised sir!" Oskar answered in a chipper tone before heading down the street. "Thank you!"

"Not a problem kid."

**҉**

Oskar walked through the automatic front doors of the hospital and took a look around the lobby. It was one would expect of the average hospital lobby. Rows and rows of chairs, dozens of magazines kept on a shelf for people to read, a candy and pop machine off to the side and a front desk with a nurse working on the computer. The only difference here seemed to be the fact the chairs were made for pones and the nurse was one as well. Oskar also noticed that this seemed to be a quiet day for the hospital as the lobby was completely empty save for the nurse working the front desk.

Deciding to take a seat until the nurse decided to notice her, Oskar walked over to the shelf with the magazines, she took one titled Ponies and moved to sit in one of the many empty chairs when the nurse unexpectedly called out to her.

"Miss?" The nurse called. "You don't have to wait; I'm available right now if you need help."

Blinking in genuine surprise, Oskar placed the magazine back on the shelf and walked over to the front desk.

"How can I help you miss?" The nurse asked. She was a light blue coated and purple maned unicorn with purple eyes. Her cutie mark appeared to be a stylised red cross. She wore a nurse's cap and had a stethoscope around her neck. "Are you here for a walk-in? It's a pretty quiet day so I can get a doctor to look at you fairly quickly."

"No thank you." Oskar replied. "I'm actually here to ask a few questions about health care and the like."

"Oh!" The nurse said in surprise. "Well I definitely got time to answer any questions you may have, so fire away!"

"Thanks." Oskar said, flashing the unicorn a smile. "Well first, how do you handle newly discovered or dangerous diseases?"

"Well…" The nurse began, tapping a hoof to her chin in thought. "If it's a newly discovered disease then we quarantine the pony infected with it and study the disease in hazmat suits, hopefully we'll discover it doesn't spread to others easily, like through the air, so we don't have to quarantine too many other ponies, if all goes well then the infected ponies will be let go after we discover a cure or until we finish boosting the immune system to drive the disease off. If it was a known dangerous disease like ENC then-"

"Sorry to interrupt." Oskar said. "But what is ENC?"

"Oh you don't know?" The nurse blinked in surprise. "A few young ponies tend to get it, you must of have been lucky not to have heard of it. ENC stands for Equine Nasal Cysts, which are basically blisters filled with pus that form in the nasal passages. It's a nasty and potentially deadly disease, especially for young ponies who like to sleep on their backs, which causes the cysts to start to bunch and press down on the throat, closing it. When that happens you have to quickly get the foal to sit up and massage the throat and coax the cysts of out their bunching."

"Oh, so how is it cured?" Oskar asked, though noting vaguely the disease sounded similar to something back on Earth.

"Well there is no known cure just yet." The nurse answered. "Attempting to burst or drain the cysts is not a very good idea, as it usually causes more to develop. Currently we have to bring in young afflicted ponies to the hospitals for surgery to remove the cysts but there have been promising developments in medicine lately… might be an easy to cure illness one day soon if they can get the spray to work." The nurse finished more to herself then to Oskar.

"So how would an average checkup go?" Oskar asked.

"Well it's simple enough." The nurse replied. "First we have a physical examination, sometimes it's a brief one sometimes we do a complete examination, it depends on the obvious fitness of the patient really. Then we do a few laboratory tests, which can be as little as a blood test. But we do other things, like an ultrasound for expecting mothers and treatments for those with disorders. The general medical examination can be a simple or complicated process depending on the health or condition of the patient."

"Hmmm… interesting…" Oskar hummed, deciding that her next question wouldn't be too suspicious after asking the first few. "Now… ummm… how do I ask this? How do you handle the… recently deceased…"

"Oh…" The nurse said with a solemn look and sighed. "The one inevitability of life… it's never easy handling ponies that have passed on but we do our best. When we hear about a death we send a unicorn doctor right away. When the doctor arrives he casts a rejuvenation spell to reverse what decay the body has undergone, then he puts a spell on the body to preserve it until it can be moved to the morgue where special cells can keep the bodies preserved until the time for it to be buried comes around, then one last preservation spell is cast before it is sent out to the funeral."

"So if you managed to arrive before any decay has occurred the body will be perfectly preserved?" Oskar asked in genuine curiosity.

"Yes, in fact that's what we strive for." The nurse answered with a somber smile. "It almost looks like they are asleep…"

"Wow…" Oskar said softly before deciding to change the subject. "S-so how do you handle newborns?"

"I just love taking care of the foals!" The nurse gushed. "First I do my usual checkups then I start to feed them a…"

Oskar stopped paying attention, she had gotten the information she had come for. She however did pay enough attention to nod and answer when she needed to but otherwise she was focused on her own thoughts.

'_Okay, the choice is now obvious.'_ Oskar thought to herself. _'As long as I make sure the doctor arrives quickly then I will not lose any important memories. But I also have to make sure Silver Light's condition worsens enough for his family to contact the hospital, and only kill him when the ambulance or whatever the equivalent here is about to arrive. Hmmm… sounds a bit difficult but I should be able to handle it.'_

'_Look at the time,' _Oskar thought upon spotting the clock. _'I better get going soon or I may be late meeting Razor Wing for my tour, maybe I could get more information about Silver Light from him?'_

"… a few pats on the back and they're good." The nurse finished with a smile.

"Thanks for answering all of my questions!" Oskar replied with a smile. "I have to go now but thank you again!"

"You're welcome miss!" The nurse said at the retreating form of her fellow unicorn.

'_Hmmm… okay I just to follow the directions given to me in reverse.'_ The viral being thought as she walked down the street back to the bakery.

**҉**

It was now the next day and Oskar was currently outside the residence of the currently ill Silver Light. She had learned much from Razor Wing from the tour the day before. Said tour had started off with Razor offering to buy Oskar a pastry from the bakery they stood beside, and Oskar was tempted to accept the offer but remembered that she couldn't hold the pastry the "normal" unicorn way and declined, though she moved Razor Wing a few notches on her mental altruism scale, closer to Twilight. They proceeded to travel all over Canterlot, during which Oskar was introduced to the many sights and sounds of the Equestrian capital. The art exhibit, the race track and the Royal Guard academy were but a few places she had seen, although the viral being was thankful their time had ended before Razor could show here the palace as Oskar was still working out an excuse for not going there. Also, while she was being shown around Oskar had been talking with Razor and learned many things from, the relevantly important of which was details on Silver Light's location and condition. She had learned the elder unicorn was being checked up on weekly by a doctor, because the old stallion was too stubborn to move to the hospital. Coincidently she had also managed to learn that the doctor's scheduled visit was the very next day. Having learned so much from the young guard pony, Oskar was more than happy to accept his offer of dinner in a restaurant to learn even more from him.

'_Pretty nice for a soldier… Equestrian pension benefits must be awesome.'_ Oskar thought to herself as she studied the three floored estate before sending out a viral pulse. _'There you are, second floor located right next to that alley… __**perfect**__. Okay the doctor should be arriving in half an hour, time to get situated and begin the first step to complete my third objective: Acquire Mastery in magical field.'_

Oskar casually walked across the street from her position opposite Silver Light's home and made her way into the alley. As she was passing a dumpster and group of trash cans Oskar discreetly glanced behind her and ahead of her, finding no one looking into the alley she immediately dissolved into a mass of black tendrils that quickly formed into a rat. Now in a rodent form, Oskar quickly darted between the dumpster and trash cans. Pushing his body against the hard stone wall, Oskar made a tendril that was as thick as a pencil extend from his hidden side and drill into the stone. After a few moments the tendril broke through the stone wall and found itself between the internal wooden walls and the stone external ones. Quickly forming eyes, the tendril took in the sight of the dark space between the walls and the pink insulation lining the interior wooden walls before writhing upwards towards the second floor. Drilling through a layer of wood, the tendril changed directions and pierced the wall of the room Silver Light was resting in.

Easily burrowing though the wooden wall, the tendril came out to find itself in a perfect position, under Silver Light's bed. Traveling over the small boxes and trunks under the bed, the tendril made over to the side of the large bed that had a large bulge from the weight on it. Stopping where it roughly guessed was where Silver Light's head was resting, it moved upwards and began digging through the bed itself. Burrowing past the thin foam layer and threading itself through the springs of the mattress the tendril stopped just short of digging past the last foam layer and into the sheet covering the mattress.

Back outside Oskar mentally changed targets and sent out another viral pulse, which came back after a moment. The viral being quickly made a few mental calculations after sending out a few more pulses, after examining the estimated speed and distance of the approaching doctor, Oskar compared it to a rough mental map of Canterlot and guessed that the doctor was twenty five minutes away. Now in position to discreetly end Silver Light's life the Blacklight being began the long wait for the moment to act.

The next little while was spent by Oskar constantly sending out pulses, tracking the doctors progress through the city and towards Silver Light's estate. Eventually after guessing him to be eight minute away Oskar decided it was time for Silver Light to die.

The tendril in Silver's bed burrowed a little more until it was just beneath the sheets covering the mattress. Out of the head of the tendril came an even smaller one, barely bigger than a hair strand the tiny tendril threaded itself through the sheet. Finding itself beneath the covers of Silver's bed, the mostly blind and deaf tendril moved towards a source of light in the darkness. Just as the tendril moved into the open air it both felt and heard something, the inhaling and exhaling of a living being. Moving towards the source the tendril eventually came close enough to make out the cavernous opening of Silver's mouth. Now more than close enough to complete its goal the tendril began shaking itself, causing tiny particles to break off and fly into Silver Light's sleeping mouth when he inhaled. Ensuring that Silver got a few more lungful's of viruses, the tiny tendril then rapidly retracted back to the awaiting larger tendril then it too began rapidly retracting back though the space between the walls.

Reabsorbing the tendril into his form Oskar quickly darted out from between the dumpster and trashcans. Finding no one looking down the alley, Oskar quickly reformed himself into Emerald Gleaner. Making her way back to the street in front of Silver's estate, Oskar glanced down the street to see the easily recognizable form of the oncoming doctor, a red unicorn wearing a large white coat and a blue stylised cross for a cutie mark. Walking past him Oskar couldn't resist greeting him.

"Good morning sir." Oskar said with a smile.

"A very good morning to you too!" The unicorn greeted back.

Continuing on her way down the street Oskar paused a moment after hearing the doctor enter the building. She strained her ears, waiting for a single specific noise. Suddenly a feminine anguished cry filled the air, coming form from Silver's estate. Letting a satisfied smile grace her features for the briefest moment Oskar continued on her way as ponies shared shocked looks around her and wondered what was going on.

'_Step one complete, beginning step two.' _ The Cadre Evolved thought to herself. _'Awaiting the announcement of the burial.'_

**҉**

Oskar had spent the next four days in canterlot awaiting Silver Light's funeral. She had expected to wait far longer but it seemed the now dead pony's family just wanted to get it over and done with. The viral being was very glad to find out she wouldn't have to wait weeks and weeks for the body to be buried.

Oskar did not spend the last four days sitting around and waiting however, most of her time was spent being productive. The nights and a good portion of the days Oskar spent in the outskirts of Canterlot when she felt her straining her newly acquired earth pony magic wasn't low key enough for the gyms. She was also trying out her new pegasus magic, it wasn't a very hard thing to acquire, after all everyone shed hair constantly and all it took was the right one for Oskar to gain pegasus genes. The other result of her hair hunting was that she had dozens upon dozens of other pony forms now and a far wider selection of traits. Of course just because she had pegasus wings did not mean Oskar could fly now as she did not have the memories needed, and pegasus magic was definitely needed to fly properly so the few times she had eaten a crow would not help here. Oskar was definitely eager to learn how to master pegasus abilities though, recalling the time Rainbow Dash managed to lift her despite her immense weight. If an athletic pegasus could do that then surely Oskar with some practice could eventually fly one day.

But learning to master her earth pony magic was not the only thing she did, there were also the trips around town and the dinners and suppers she had spent with Razor Wing. The Royal Guard was proving to be very friendly as well as useful. She leant much of not only Canterlot but other towns and cities as well. Not to mention Razor's personal opinion on the other races inhabiting Equestria, from gem crazy Diamond Dogs to lumbering Cave Trolls Razor had encountered at least one member of the race and had an opinion on it. While the books were good for general information learning things from people who experienced them was far more useful, especially when you were certain they were telling the truth.

Case in point, Oskar was currently enjoying a breakfast sandwich Razor gotten for her while they were sitting in the empty bleachers of the race track, watching the sun rise. Oskar was rather hoping they would be talking more about Razor's experiences as a pegasus guard but the guard pony seemed far more content to just hang out and enjoy the view with Oskar by his side.

So feeling a little disappointed Oskar did just that and watched the sun rise while munching on her definitely delicious sandwich, which was surprisingly made of flowers and grasses. Despite enjoying the vegetarian meal Oskar was definitely considering breaking into a farm to steal eggs to make a proper breakfast sandwich when Razor Wing got her attention.

"Emerald?" The guard pony asked in a soft voice as he placed his hoof on her shoulder.

"Yes, Razor?" Oskar asked and tilted her head curiously when she saw the normally confident pegasus look very nervous.

"I-I know we've only been dating for a few days and all but…" Razor began.

Oskar's mind immediately froze. _'Dating? We're dating?'_

Razor looked Emerald Gleaner in the eye, he took in her curious expression with the utterly cute way she tilted her head. Swallowing in his nervousness, Razor Wing's expression changed to determination and he placed his other hoof on Emerald's other shoulder and closed his eye as he pulled her into a deep kiss.

Oskar's eyes widened to their furthest extent as a massive embarrassed blush enveloped her cheeks. In panic of the sudden and intimate action, large tendrils shot out from her back covered in patches of glowing bioluminescence and ending in vicious serrated scything blades. The tendrils writhed in the air a moment before they whipped forward to rip Razor Wing to shreds. Just like with Rose Locks the blades stopped mere inches from Razor's body before immediately retreating back into Oskar's back before the guard pony noticed them. Having managed to calm herself and reign in her violent instincts, Oskar proceeded to wait out Razor's kiss… unfortunately it had ended up being significantly lengthened when the viral being forgot herself and let out a groan of exasperation over her predicament, which the guard pony took to be "something else" and proceeded to stick his tongue into Oskar's mouth.

After what seemed like an hour of enduring unwanted French kissing, which was actually a few seconds, Razor finally ended his kiss with a sigh and glazed eyes. Utterly humiliated, Oskar's face was cherry red and she quickly averted her face to the floor to hide her poorly restrained murderous fury.

Razor stared down almost lovingly at the beautiful unicorn that seemed to be hiding her expression under her bangs, while panting breathlessly. Razor was pretty sure he was an average kisser and was incredibly satisfied he managed to bring a beauty like Emerald to such a state.

'_Can't… butcher Razor Wing…' _Oskar thought as she heaved with the exertion of keeping her fury born out of humiliation in check, her biomass now in flux and surging with need to tear the pegasus in front of her limb from limb, cell from cell. _'Mustn't kill him… don't know how to get away with it…'_

After a few moments the viral being managed to gain enough control over herself to not reveal just how furious she was with Razor at the moment and looked back up. Cheeks still flushed, Oskar saw the guard pony look down at her with a soft smile and reach forward to nuzzle her neck a little. Expression twitching with newfound fury at this act, Oskar quickly took a step back and refocused her attention back on the ground to once again hide her expression.

"Emerald?" She head Razor Wing say, his voice sounding uncertain and little hurt over her action.

Not meeting his gaze Oskar spoke. "Razor you know I'm not from around here right?"

"Yes but-"

"Well I don't intend to stay around for much longer." Oskar said as she quickly interrupted him. "I only ever intended to stay a few days to do research for my report and going back home. I didn't think something like this would happen between us Razor, I really didn't…"

"If it helps I did enjoy our time together…" Oskar continued when Razor didn't reply. "But I think this should end now before it becomes too emotionally involved."

"Emerald I know we wouldn't be living in the same place but…" Razor said in some protest.

"Long distance relationships rarely if ever work out Razor…" Oskar said softly, despite her rising irritation at the guard pony. "A pony of your age should know that…"

'_Stop being so fucking difficult!' _Oskar inwardly seethed. _'If I have to make a scene to make you go away I will!'_

"Emerald…" Razor said, reaching out to her with his hoof.

"Goodbye Razor…" Oskar said before quickly turning away and trotting off.

"…Goodbye Emerald…" Razor whispered after her with a heartbroken expression.

'_Chin up Razor wing… plenty blades of grass in the field now right?' _The Royal Guard thought to himself, trying and failing to make himself feel better.

It didn't help that Oskar as Emerald Gleaner had been very eager to learn all about the guard pony and what he experienced, causing the pegasus to think she was interested in him. It also didn't help that Oskar's mare form was incredibly easy on the eyes and her superb acting skills made her very pleasant to be around. All and all Razor Wing had pretty much fallen head over hooves for the secretly fake unicorn and was not taking the sudden "breakup" very well.

'_I don't think there will ever be another blade like Emerald Gleaner though.' _Razor thought sadly as he begun trudging back to his barracks.

Oskar, currently was making her way to the Canterlot cemetery to simply wait under Silver Light's designated grave for said pony's body to arrive. But all the way the while she was openly scowling at what she just experienced.

'_I can't BELIEVE I did not fucking see that coming!' _The Blacklight being seethed as she stomped along, making sharp clacks from her hooves hitting the streets. _'I SHOULD have seen this coming a mile away! Why didn't I see this coming?!'_

"RAAAGH!" Now walking through a small park, Oskar turned her attention to a nearby boulder and split it in twain with a single buck of her hind legs. Breath coming in angry gasps, the Cadre Evolved stiffened and looked to her left and saw a group of young unicorns. It seemed a class of unicorn foals often used this path to get to school every morning and just happened to be walking by when Oskar vented her rage.

Staring blankly at the small group of gaping foals for a moment, Oskar suddenly barked out a sharp. "WHAT!?"

"NOTHING!"

"RUN AWAY!"

"AHHHHHHH!"

Oskar watched as the little unicorns squealed in terror, her frown slowly twisting into a small amused smile as the little ponies ran off.

'_Okay now I feel better.' _Oskar admitted to herself honestly _'That was likely not very smart but they're kids, whose going to believe stories kids say?'_

'_Still…' _The viral being thought, as she continued on her way. _'I really ought to have seen that coming. Now that I think about it those suppers we had together were very obviously dates… I guess it's true what they say, hindsight is twenty, twenty. Well… at least I got the genes of a guard pony, that's got to count for something right?' _The Evolved mused as she tried to cheer herself up. _'I had always thought I'd only know what it was like to be kissed by a guy through second experience via a woman's memories… goes to show life is just full of surprises… bah.'_

Finally arriving in the cemetery, Oskar proceeded to head for Silver's freshly dug up grave, having scouted it out earlier in the week. Standing at the edge of the grave Oskar then gave a quick search around her for anyone looking in her direction, finding the cemetery to be deserted she quickly dissolved into a mass of tendrils that moved into the grave. At the bottom of the grave the tendrils lingered a moment before quickly burrowing a small hole and quickly burying itself several feet below the grave and ensuring all signs of its presence were gone before fully sinking in.

And so Oskar, as an unrecognizable mass of black tendrils, waited for the funeral procession to arrive. It took three hours but the procession eventually did arrive, all dressed in black dresses with lacy black veils and formal tuxes, their arrival and actions closely watched by several small tendrils Oskar had sent out to establish surveillance on the actions above him.

It was the usual the funeral affair, the elderly wife was crying and inconsolable, the other mares were either doing the same or were as solemn as the stallions and the priest was rambling along about eternal glory in the sun or some such.

'_At least he gets to have a funeral.'_ Oskar would have scowled openly if she could, how many times were people simply incinerated or used as free feed for captive infected in the NYZ? Far, FAR too many times to even want to know, yet Oskar did, such was the downsides of having eaten Genteck scientists. _'… She didn't get one… she deserved one, she deserved the best… she deserved better than me… such a failure…'_

Quickly shaking her thoughts aside, Oskar turned her attention back to the funeral. After several more minutes the priest finally finished intoning the funeral rites and the unicorns in the groups slowly and carefully levitated the coffin into the ground. The ponies lingered for a while more but soon began walking off; comforting each other as best as they could while the undertakers began their jobs of filling the grave. Oskar waited as she heard and felt the faint impacts of dirt against the coffin slowly fade away as the grave slowly filled. Soon the earth pony undertakers were smoothing over the top of the freshly filled grave and putting in seeds for a layer of seeds to quickly grow into grass. Watching the undertakers walk away Oskar finally decided it was time to consume Silver Light's mind.

'_Step two complete.' _Oskar thought. _'Beginning third and final step: Consume the body.'_

The mass of tendrils burrowed upwards until it reached the coffin and began drilling little holes for tendrils to slip into. Tendrils moved about blindly in the darkness of the coffin and fumbled about over the pony corpse within until they moved towards the head. Reaching the head the tendrils felt about for the ears and upon finding them, moved into the ear canals. The tendrils broke through the ear drums and slipped through the inner workings of the ears until they reached their target… the brain.

The tendrils immediately tore into it, causing the body to twitch wildly as nerves were unintentionally triggered. Before long the body stilled as the brain was finally consumed.

Oskar retracted her tendrils back from the casket, deciding that under the ground was a safe enough place to integrate memories into his mind and thus did so.

The mass of tendrils shuddered as memories assaulted it. Oskar could not described how relieved she was when she found the mind to not only be perfectly preserved as memories flowed, but also that all the memories were intact as well.

Like when she consumed Steven and the animals in Everfree, thoughts and memories of all types and importance flowed into Oskar's mind. Some were dull and gray like the patrols around the city that Silver Light considered routine and boring. Others were bright and fully animated with the five senses, like a raid on a Diamond Dog mine holding captive ponies being forced to help dig up gems and several meetings with Princess Celestia. Other memories of the same importance were also there, like times Silver Light spent with his wife and children, Oskar quickly back away from those. Other memories, like those spent in training to sharpen and improve his skills and life in the academy were not as bright and vibrant as the others but still contained the information that Oskar so dearly desired.

Looking through her telescope tendrils Oskar saw there were no ponies in the cemetery and quickly burrowed up to the surface, her tendrils making a small hole the size of a golf ball and flowed through. Reforming as Emerald Gleaner, Oskar had the brightest smile on her face at finally attaining true mastery over magic. Absolutely ecstatic over her achievement, she quickly began making her way out of the cemetery and back to Everfree to test her new skills.

**҉**

"Haa!" Oskar shouted as she tossed a large stone the size of her head. The stone flew a fair distance before crashing into a tree and knocking it over.

"Well… that wasn't too bad according to Silver's memories, but I need to be better." Oskar was now back in Everfree, testing out her newly gained mastery in unicorn magic. However… there seemed to be a problem with her magic circuitry. It seemed that integrating all three pony tribe magics had messed up her chances of true mastery in magic without years of effort; she had the knowledge to be considered a master on paper that much was sure… her magical control however…

"Gah!" Oskar shouted as her attempt at a teleport sent her not only backwards but made her upside down as well.

Her control was completely shot, it seemed the only spells she could cast competently was telekinesis and making her horn into an effective light. The thing about all three pony magics was the magic circuitry. Unicorn circuits were located in the head and clustered near the forehead, they needed a foci in order to be used at all which was obviously the horn. In that way Pegasus magic was very similar, pegasi circuitry were located along the back but were mostly clustered in the shoulder muscles, like unicorn magic pegasi magic also needed a focus which was the wings. In retrospect if Oskar simply only consumed unicorn and pegasus DNA then she wouldn't be having control problems and would probably be enjoying mastery in unicorn magic, while also using that knowledge to gain some sort of handle over pegasus magic. Having said that, the problem was obviously the earth pony magical circuit, the earth pony circuitry was located ALL over the body. The problem here was that the earth pony circuits often crossed with the unicorn and pegasus ones, the other two circuits were used in ways similar to each other but were very different to how earth pony magic was used, causing _errors_ in the system when unicorn magic began drawing upon the earth pony circuitry because it happened to be connected.

"MMMM! MMMM! MMMM-Gah!" A half buried Oskar shouted as another teleport made her end up in the ground before pulling herself free.

Thus the control problems… Of course one could present Oskar with a simple solution, why not simply remove the earth pony circuits and only use the other two? Her own physical abilities were impressive enough without even needing earth pony magic to amplify them after all. Oskar had thought of and tried this… and immediately ran into another problem. She didn't know _how_ to remove the earth pony circuit, or even the other circuits for that matter. It was _magic_ it wasn't like she could reach into herself and rip it out; Silver Light's memories were of no help here since no one had ever thought of trying to remove magic before. So it appeared the viral being was stuck with messed up magic. The irony here was that earth pony magic seemed to be a simple and straightforward enough of a system that it suffered no problems from drawing on the wrong kinds of magic as well, making the arguably useless magic of the three the only one she could use… for the moment.

'_It's simply a matter of control.' _Oskar thought confidently. _'I need to learn how to draw upon only one circuit and exclude the others somehow. Since Silver Light or anyone else here for that matter has never had these problems, trying to fix this by consuming someone is not an option. Looks like I won't be getting a free ride here after all… oh well.'_ The Cadre Evolved thought with a sigh. _'Magic is worth the effort and at least I only have to learn control instead of spending years in school for everything else.'_

Taking a look around her surroundings in the Everfree, Oskar nodded decisively and got up to get the rock she threw.

'_Let's start with something simple.' _Oskar thought as she lifted the small boulder onto her back and carried to someplace more open. _'Doing lifts with telekinesis is a simple control exercise for young unicorns in school. I'll do this until I'm sure I got a proper handle on it before moving onto something more complicated.'_

And so the hours flew by as Oskar suffered under mind numbing tedium of lifting a heavy stone again and again, while trying to single out her unicorn circuits for the act. As far as the Cadre Evolved could tell she did not get very far in the eight straight hours of effort she had put in. But nothing worth anything was easily gained; Oskar would not let the slow progress deter her. She would have control over her magic even if it took years of effort, and she was starting now.

More hours flew by, so many that the sun had not only set but was now just beginning to rise back into the sky. Through it all Oskar was busy lifting random objects, switching over to rocks of various sizes and weights for a change of pace or when she felt tired. Speaking of which, this was the first time Oskar had ever felt tired in years. Ever since becoming an Evolved Oskar had grown used to her tireless state, the strange feeling from her straining magic had actually confused her for several moments before realising what it was. This had also alerted the Cadre Evolved that she had a weakness here, it was a weakness she fervently hoped that training and staining her magic would eventually allow her to overcome.

Seeing the sun continuing to rise higher into the sky, Oskar paused in her training to think.

'_Hmmm… it's been roughly a week since I've left Ponyville hasn't it?' _The viral being asked herself, horn aglow with a dark pink aura. _'I did promise Twilight I would be back in a week… why not? Besides, Twilight is the student of Celestia and was known to have casted an age spell by accident when she was still a school girl! Someone like that is going to have a monstrously high potential for magic, I can't believe I didn't take a hair sample just because when I was there last. Well, being her friend means I can rectify that when I return to Ponyvile today. Right, let's go!'_

Walking off towards the forest's edge and towards Ponyvile, Oskar then contemplated her current goals.

'_Objective three: attain magical mastery, partial completion. New priority objective: attain satisfactory control of magical abilities, objective four on hold until new priority objective is complete, failure not an option.'_

**҉**

'_Isn't it noon?' _Oskar asked herself as she made her way through the rather empty streets of Ponyville. _'Why is this place so deserted? Seems very odd…'_

Having arrived just a few minutes ago Oskar was pretty much prepared to be stared at by locals again only to find herself disturbed by their disappearance. She was ready to assume the town was deserted when a gray coated pegasus with a blond mane and bubbles cutie mark suddenly flew into view and smacked into a house. Wincing as the mare peeled herself off the building Oskar quickly trotted towards her to get some answers.

"Hello miss I am Emerald Gleaner." Oskar introduced herself to the mare whose eyes seemed to have become walleyed from impact. "I was hoping to ask you if you could tell me why the town is deserted."

"Emerald Gleaner?" The pegasus asked as she picked up a dropped bag and tried to place envelopes in the wrong side of a mailbox. "I've heard that name before…"

"Uhhh… miss?" Oskar stared at the pegasus who had seemed to have been knocked senseless.

"Oh! I'm Derpy Hooves! Nice to meet you!" Derpy greeted, dropping her mail on the ground and reaching out to Oskar with her hoof.

"Likewise." Oskar replied politely as she placed her hoof against Derpy's. "Now about my question?"

"You don't know!" Derpy gasped dramatically. "There's a funeral going on today, practically everpony went! I heard it was really tragic; there was this mare that had absolutely no luck in her life but was _really_ beautiful. It was horrible; I'm tearing up just thinking about it!"

"Oh? What happened to her?" Oskar asked curiously.

"She mistook Everfree for a normal old forest and ran into a chimera…" Derpy said softly as she hugged herself in midair.

"So everypony is at this funeral?" Oskar stated with an arched eyebrow. "Even… for example: Twilight Sparkle?"

"Oh yeah, definitely her." Derpy answered sadly. "She was a friend of hers after all."

"Hmmm…" Oskar hummed as she tapped her chin in thought. "Well thank you Derpy, I'll be off."

"See you Emerald." The walleyed pegasus waved goodbye when a thought struck her as she stared after the leaving form of Oskar.

"Emerald Gleaner… hey that's the same name as the-" Suddenly Derpy's eyes widened both in realization and horror. "G-g-g-ghost!"

Immediately the pegasus turned tail to fly away only to smack into the same building she crashed into before.

'_A friend of Twilight's died huh?' _The Cadre Evolved mused. '_With any luck the one to have died would have been Rarity, description somewhat fits her, not likely though since Twilight never mentioned her having horrible luck. At any rate I'll be busy being the shoulder to cry on for the next full days, it'll be worth it in the long run though as she'll trust and like me more.'_

Giving a quick pulse of her viral sonar with Twilight as the target, Oskar went into a trot in the direction it came back from.

'_Huh… I've never had to act the supportive friend before.' _Oskar thought. _'I've acted the part of a crazy Blackwatch grunt, mad Gentech scientist, half-starved and crazed refugee, mindless infected and even a brothel girl… ugh, I still shudder when thinking about that, at least I only had to sound and act __**eager**__ to get him to come into the room with me. But yeah, I've never had to act like a friend before, I mean I've acted chummy with the Blackwatch grunts but I've never had to __**support**__ them in a time of personal need. Blackwatch always made sure to select the independent psychopaths I guess… well then this will be a learning experience that much is sure. It shouldn't be too hard, just constantly soothe her pain and hold her close to comfort her all the while lying about it, just like the girls back home! OHHHH, tsssss… hehehehe that was very poor!'_

Oskar arrived at the Ponyville cemetery and was greeted by the sight of a large number of pews filled with ponies wearing black attire. There were so many ponies that there weren't enough pews for them all, forcing a few to stand rather than sit. The odd thing was that while the mares were respectfully solemn, the colts were all in tears, especially this one really buff looking pegasus who was balling like a baby near the back.

'_Wow, Derpy wasn't kidding!'_ Oskar thought as she took in the sight. _'Seems everyone in town decided to show like she said. Hmmm… I don't see Twilight… ah, there she is.' _The viral unicorn thought after sending out a quick pulse. _'She and her friends appear to have a pew all to themselves at the front there. Right, I'm a friend too so let's just get over there as inconspicuously as possible.'_

Oskar made her way to the front of funeral, head held down and body as low as possible without looking strange as the old priest pony continued to recite rites. Eventually she managed to reach the pew without attracting any attention and slowly settled into it, inwardly hoping it was as sturdy as Equestrian beds. Turning to her left, Oskar saw that Twilight was fairly close with only Rainbow Dash between them. The unicorn in question was staring at the ground with tears in her eyes and hiccupping every few moments.

'_Wow that pony must meant something to her.'_ Oskar mused.

Learning over a little Oskar whispered. "Hey Twiley, just got back, mind if I ask who died?"

As Twilight's head shot up and her eyes widened to their furthest possible extent Dash spoke, angry at the thoughtless question.

"HEY!" Rainbow Dash growled at Oskar. "Show some bucking respect would ya! You-ahhh!"

"EMERALD!" Twilight shouted as she practically threw Dash out of her seat to get at Oskar, throwing her forelegs around the fake pony's neck in a tight hug while crying in shocked happiness.

"WHOA!" Oskar exclaimed in honest surprise. "What was that for?"

"I thought you were DEAD Emerald!" Twilight answered, staring at Oskar with tear filled eyes.

"Really?!" Oskar stated in confusion as she looked around herself and took in the absolutely shocked expressions from everyone staring at her, looking at the tomb stone, Oskar saw an accurate carving of her cutie mark with her name carved under it, and she even had an epitaph that read: _You make your own luck._

"I leave for a week and everypony thinks I'm dead? Why?!" Oskar exclaimed and added in a deadpan tone. "I mean… what the Hay."

'_Hay doesn't sound nearly as impressive as hell…' _Oskar thought, sighing inwardly.

"Why?!" Twilight said, practically muzzle to muzzle with Oskar as she glared at said virus angrily. "Because Everfree is dangerous you uneducated moron!"

Oskar blinked owlishly at this surprising show of anger. "… What?"

"Oh I'm sorry Emerald! I didn't mean to say something so hurtful to you!" Twilight said with wide horrified eyes as she covered her mouth with her hooves. "I'm just so happy to see you survived the forest but at the same time I'm so furious that you went into Everfree in the first place."

"Wait… you followed me into Everfree?" Oskar asked in genuine shock and worry, which was for her own secrets rather than concern for the unicorn still latched around her neck.

"Yes I did." Twilight answered with a nod. "I was really worried for you when I figured out where you went… and then I followed your hoof prints to that clearing… dear Celestia there was so much blood… wait, if you're fine then where did the blood come from?" Twilight asked as she stared at Oskar in confusion.

'_Crap! Think of something!' _The Cadre Evolved's mind went into high gear, rapidly piecing together a cover story for an agonising moment. _'OKAY! Got it!'_

"Blood?" Oskar asked confusedly before making her expression clear in "realization". "Oh! That was the chimera's blood!"

"What!" Fluttershy squeaked in shocked surprise. "H-how in the world did you manage to a hurt the chimera _that_ badly?!"

"Quite easily… I bucked him in the nose." Osakr answered as she pried Twilight's forelegs from her neck and walked over to her now redundant tombstone. "Like this!"

With that Oskar give the tombstone a slightly pulled kick with her hind legs, utterly shattering it, to the combined shock and admiration of many ponies. Oskar of course realised this action would only gain her more attention as while earth ponies were capable of doing what she just demonstrated, but rarely was a unicorn able to perform such a feat with such evident ease. However it also the only thing she could think of to back up her claim of hitting a chimera hard enough to make it bleed copiously, she just hoped there wasn't anyone here that would try to refute her claim, as Emerald Gleaner was an "uneducated unicorn" so Oskar had limits to what she could claim Emerald was capable of. Thankfully everyone seemed to be either too shocked or enamored with her display to try to poke holes in her explanation.

"Woo howdy!" Applejack exclaimed as she trotted over to examine the results of Oskar's kick. "For a unicorn, ya buck _real_ good!"

"Why thank you!" Oskar thanked but inwardly she was laughing uproariously, thinking how different Applejack's compliment would be if one little letter was changed. "I'm a traveling unicorn with basically no magic, so I have to know how to _buck_ like the best of them!" The fake unicorn stated with a giggle.

The various colts watching on in the pews practically had hearts in their eyes by now from watching Oskar.

'_Beautifal, __**strong**__ and independent! What's not to love?!' _ Was their collective thoughts.

Unfortunately, for them, the mares in the group noticed their partners' gazes at the fake unicorn and immediately bit down hard on their ears to drag them back home for a good talking to while also shooting dirty looks at Oskar for gaining their attention in the first place. The colts that didn't have a girlfriend or wife finally caught themselves and sheepishly slinked away.

"Well… considering the deceased no longer seems to be deceased; I'll be taking my leave now." The old priest said as he slowly walked away.

Oskar didn't notice as she was too busy staring at what just happened in the pews and wondering why all the mares were glaring at her as they drug their partners away.

"Ooookay… anyways!" Oskar stated, turning her attention back to Twilight and her friends. "After giving him a nice bleeding, I decided to take a tour around Everfree and caught a ride of sorts."

"So you made the chimera agree to let you ride him?" Twilight asked and got a wide smile from Oskar in answer. "You are one of the most unique mares I know Emerald and I should know, I know five others just as unique as you!" The violet unicorn said, smiling at her friends.

Oskar was about to reply when suddenly the six mares in front of her suddenly gasped and stared at something behind her. The Cadre Evolved turned around just as a shadow fell over her and saw someone that made her eyes widen in fear and caused her to shakily step back. It was Celestia.

"G-greetings your R-royal Highness!" Oskar stuttered out nervously before realising she may have insulted the Praincess' sensibilities by speaking without being spoken to. "P-please forgive your humble s-servant for speaking out of turn Princess! I-I do not see nobility very often, let a-alone royalty! I'll be sure to remember proper e-etiquette next time!"

Twilight and her friends stared with utterly flabbergasted expressions at Oskar. The idea of anyone being afraid of Princess Celestia was incomprehensible yet there was a pony now doing just that. The sure raw fear on Oskar's face was heart wrenching for Twilight to see, especially when it was directed to Celestia the she was so devoted to.

But if the Mane Six was shocked at Emerald's behavior then Celestia was far more affected, even bordering on stupefaction at the display.

Princess Celestia was used to being adored, respected and ponies lavishing attention on her, much to the Alicorn's annoyance at times, but never before did she ever see one of her own ponies display such palpable fear at the sight of her. It made the kindly ruler's stomach twist at the display as well as causing her to back up and widen her eyes in sure shock. It was made even worse since she knew of this "pony" from Twilight and of the hardships she had gone through in her life.

Quickly gaining a hold of herself, Celestia approached the now bowed form of "Emerald Gleaner". The Alicorn of the Sun approached and lied down on the ground before Oskar who was holding her face to the ground in a placating gesture. Crossing her forelegs Celestia smiled as comfortingly as possible and spoke softly.

"Emerald Gleaner… why do you fear me?" The Princess asked and looked pained when Oskar flinched at her voice. "You have nothing to fear from me little Emerald… in fact it is I that should be afraid of facing you."

"What?!" Oskar said, voice creaking in sure shock at the statement. It was enough to make the viral being lift her head off the ground and stare at the Princess who lied only a foot away.

"Yes dear Emerald Gleaner." Celestia said with deeply saddened eyes. "I consider the life you were forced to live in my own kingdom an utter and unforgiveable failure on my part. The fact you were orphaned is horrible enough on its own but adding that you were somehow not brought to the Canterlot National Orphanage to be cared for, educated and hopefully adopted a terrible crime in itself."

From the moment Oskar had realised she was right next to the Princess her heart had begun beating in her ears like a great drum. But in the face of the Alicorn's kindly smile and the almost palpable aura of benevolence, Oskar could not help but feel herself relax and her heartbeat to quieten.

"You should not have had to live this life Emerald." Celestia continued while also noticing how calm the unicorn before her had become, and was very happy for it. "And I swear I will do all that I can to make up this tragedy to you. Starting with something everypony takes for granted yet you are without, an education."

"You're sending me to school?" Oskar asked; now calm enough to retain some control of the situation. "Am I going to have to take classes with younger ponies?"

"No my little pony." Celestia replied with a smile. "I do believe you are far too old to be placed with the foals. Instead I shall have a tutor assigned to you."

"Oh…" Oskar said, unsure how to take this sudden development. "Umm… anypony I know?"

"Yes." Celestia confirmed to the Evolved's surprise. "I do believe my dear student Twilight Sparkle shall make an excellent tutor for you."

"Me?!" Twilight stated in shock. "But Princess I'm still a student! I wouldn't know how to be a teacher for another pony!"

"I would have to disagree with you Twilight." Celestia smiled at her student. "After all, at a far more tender age you were not only taking care of Spike but educating him single hoofed. And you were most certainly still learning subjects from the academy, not the more advanced subjects I personally taught you in later years."

"So you see…" Celestia continued. "I am more than confident you will not only be able to give the education Emerald Gleaner so rightly deserves but learn the lessons I still have to teach you as well."

"You really think so Princess?" Twilight asked and when Celestia nodded her expression became utterly determined. "Then I will give Emerald the best education I can!"

"I'm sure by the time you are finished, Emerald here will be able attend any university of her choosing." Celestia stated to the delight of her student before turning her attention back towards Oskar. "And you have yet to tell me why you fear me so, my little pony. Please, I wish only to know what wrong I have done to incite such horrible fear in one of my own subjects so that I may right it." Celestia almost mournfully assured when she saw Oskar's eyes widen fear once again.

"Well…" Oskar began, her mind rapidly putting together a cover story. "I'm basically a hobo, living off the dredges of civilised society, trying not to gain anypony's attention. Nobles do not like ponies of lesser social stature; I can only imagine what their reaction would be to me…" Oskar said softly, causing a frown to appear on Twilight's face from her words. "And you are Princess Celestia, ruler of all Equestria AND all the nobles. I just thought… well, that you would be insulted to find yourself anywhere near some dirty homeless pony like me and rightfully so."

Suddenly Celestia completely surprised Oskar by leaning close to nuzzle the Evolved's neck. Oskar's eyes widened as she wondered why the princess would do such an intimate action with her. However when Oskar happened to look towards the other mares nearby and saw their warm smiles to the scene before them, she rethought what was happening. Admittedly Oskar's thoughts on nuzzles were tainted by the memory of Razor Wing doing just that after thoroughly French kissing her, but Silver Light's memories proved that nuzzling was just another form of hug when the fore legs were busy being used for something important, like standing. So the Cadre Evolved relaxed and simply waited out the nuzzle.

"My dear Emerald Gleaner…" Celestia said after nuzzling Oskar. "I would never feel that way about one of my own subjects, no matter what they were. Everypony is dear to me, to betray their trust in me though such pettiness for their station… is unfathomable to me. And to tell you the truth I highly doubt the nobility would treat you in such a fashion once they saw you." To Celestia it was more likely the bachelor nobles would start to compete for the young beauty's hoof and heart, rather than rudely snub her off as said unicorn thought.

"… Thank you Princess." Oskar replied softly, truthfully at a loss of how to take Celestia's kindness.

"Well I'm glad we were able to move beyond that." Celestia smiled at the smaller pony. "And I am most certainly happy to see you have managed to face the danger of Everfree without a scratch, Twilight was inconsolable when she thought she had lost a newly made but dear friend."

"Oh…" Oskar said, looking at said violet unicorn that seemed to be recounting that time with a deeply unhappy expression. "I truthfully had no idea… I've never had a real friend in years…"

"Before you were alone and nopony else knew you well enough to know to be concerned about what you did with your life." Celestia stated with a nod. "But now you do have a friend Emerald and a wound was torn deep into her heart when she thought you gone forever."

"I'll… I'll be sure to not to worry Twilight any more with dangerous actions in the future Princess Celestia." Oskar replied genuinely… from a certain point of view.

"And that is all everypony wants I'm sure." Celestia answered with a soft smile. "It's time I returned to Canterlot; I came expecting to have to attend a funeral… I'm glad I was disappointed. But before I leave, Twilight I wish for you to give me weekly reports on Emerald's education in addition to those you already send."

"Of course Princess." Twilight replied.

With a nod Celestia began walking away from the cemetery to a packed chariot with a pair of pegasi guards a fair distance away.

"Well… this is an interesting development." Oskar stated to Twilight when the Princess was out of ear shot.

"I know right!" Twilight said happily, giving the viral being another hug. "This is so fantastic Emerald! I have so much to teach you! Don't you think this is such a great opportunity for the both of us? I've read that one only truly begins to understand a subject when they teach it to another, this will be a fantastic learning experience for the both of us!"

"Gee Twilight, you have to be such an egghead?" Rainbow Dash stated from above with a smirk.

'_Hmmm… actually this can be a massive advantage.' _Oskar thought. The Cadre Evolved now know that Twilight was not only a student of Celestia but was said to have massive _natural_ potential for magic. Considering that the girl had managed to cast an incredibly complicated master level spell when she only six, though by accident, this was most definitely the truth. And as personal student of Princess Celestia there was a high possibility Twilight could teach her things that even Silver Light did not know, a very good chance as the unicorn seemed to be the type of person to share knowledge with as many people as possible no matter what it was. With Twilight's prodigal insight and Oskar's excuse as uneducated unicorn the viral being could master her control over her magic far faster than was possible alone. _'Yes this is most definitely advantageous; I would be an idiot not to accept.'_

"This is great Twilight!" Oskar replied happily to the unicorn hugging her. "I'll finally be able to master my magic! I can't wait to start finally learning how to manipulate things with my horn, all that time of watching unicorn's use magic for every little thing won't be so painful to watch!"

"You'll learn how to do more than that Emerald." Twilight stated determinedly. "I promise."

"Great but…" Oskar began, looking over the unicorn's shoulder at the other mares. "Perhaps you should introduce your friends to me? I've only ever heard about them after all."

"Oh! Sorry!" Twilight said sheepishly as she let go of Oskar. "This pony here is Applejack."

"Howdy!" Said cowpony greeted with a tip of her Stetson. "Friends call me AJ."

"That up there is Rainbow Dash."

"Yo!" Dash waved from the cloud she was treating like a recliner chair.

"Over there is Rarity and the pegasus behind her is Fluttershy."

"Salutations Darling!" Rarity greeted grandly.

"H-h-hello…" Fluttershy said with a small wave.

"And finally this is-"

"HI! I'm Pinkie Pie!" The party pony greeted, bounding right in front of Oskar. "It's reallyreallyreally nice to meet you! I gotta say the colts were completely right about you! Completely perfect!" Pinkie said, taking a hold of Oskar's face with her hooves and examining her for imperfections. "Yup, yup! Perfect! You know I can't believe I missed you! I normally catch the new ponies when they first get into town! Well I know how to fix this! Introduction par-" Pinkie stuck and party favour into her mouth and was about to blow when Twilight interrupted.

"No." Twilight stated firmly, making the pink blow half-heartedly and look at the unicorn with glistening eyes.

"But why Twilight!" Pinkie pouted. "Emmy needs a proper introduction party to Ponyville! So everypony gets to know her!

"I know Pinkie." Twilight replied with a smile. "But today, tomorrow and probably the rest of the week will be very busy for Emerald. I have to plan out her lesson plans today and start implementing them tomorrow." Twilight said as she started leading the fake unicorn back to her home. "Tell you what, I'll make sure Emerald gets this weekend off, you can hold her introduction party then okay?"

"Oh okay…" Pinkie said reluctantly before her expression suddenly cleared up in excitement. "HEY, THIS MEANS I GOT A WHOLE WEEK TO PLAN A SUPER FUN AND AWESOME PARTY!" Pinkie declared before darting off.

"Ugh, ah don' envy ya Emerald." Applejack said with a wince. "A whole week full of book learning? Ah'd rather be bucking apples."

"Yeah." Dash agreed from her cloud. "Stuff like that sounds like it'll take away from my morning and afternoon naps."

"Dash you are always napping." Rarity replied. "It's a wonder you get any work done at all with all the times I've seen you using a cloud as a bed."

"That's cause I'm just awesome." Dash replied, putting a pair of sun glasses over her eyes.

"I'll see you later girls!" Twilight said with a wave.

"See ya Twi!" Dash waved back.

"Should we head home now?" Oskar asked.

"Definitely." Twilight replied with a smile.

**҉**

"… And then in this period we'll start your teleportation classes, but only if we manage to cover more material then expected in the year." Twilight said, levitating a ruler to a chalk board completely covered with an intricate schedule plan… and that was only the front side. "Any questions?"

"Not really but you are certainly thorough in your work." Oskar said from her desk.

The two unicorns were back in Twilight's tree house. Both had spent the rest of the day in the library discussing Oskar's lesson plan for the following years. Off to the side was a bookcase Twilight had conjured up to hold Oskar's study materials. It was mostly full of books Twilight had took from the other shelves but it also held books Celestia sent along to assist in educating Emerald. The sun had recently set and Luna's moon was now in ascent.

"Of course Emerald." Twilight responded solemnly as she place her ruler down on the chalk board. "It's your education and as your tutor it's my most solemn duty I ensure you get the absolute most out of it."

"We'll start your first year lessons tomorrow." Twilight continued. "They'll be simple enough; just some small weights to for you to get a handle on telekinesis and a few basic flare exercises to properly light up your horn. Along with those we have to get you started up on mathematics, history, social studies and Equestrian 101. And once those are done we'll get started on the higher year subjects and spells. It'll be a hectic few years for you but I promised the Princess to give the best possible education and I will fulfil that promise!"

"I think it'll be easily then you may think Twilight." Oskar replied with an amused smile. "Well should we get to bed Twilight? Don't want to be still tired for tomorrow."

"Of course!" Twilight replied. "Busy, busy! So many things to cover tomorrow… hmmm, that reminds me. I should make sure Spike is doing his homework like I asked."

With that the two unicorns made their way back up to the master bedroom. The bed Oskar had occupied for a brief moment last week was still there so the Evolved slid in and pulled the covers up, enjoying lying in a bed again after a whole week.

"Good night Emerald." Twilight said as she tucked herself in. "Sleep tight, and if you wake up early again feel free to help yourself to the kitchen and study early."

"Thanks Twilight, I will." Oskar replied and once again began waiting for the other unicorn to fall asleep. Roughly half an hour later Oskar had deemed her host now asleep and got, but she did not leave the room just yet. Instead the Cadre Evolved quietly crawled out of bed and made her way silently to the dresser beside Twilight's bed. Atop the dresser was Oskar's target, a hair brush with purple and pink strands of hair curled between the bristles. Reaching over with her hoof, tendrils writhed out from her appendage and quickly gathered up every strand in the brush. Having done that, Oskar made her way out of the bedroom.

Now downstairs in the library Oskar consumed the hairs that were still untouched within her body. Instantly Oskar gritted her teeth in exertion as she worked to hold back the pressure of kinetic energy that would normally explode out after a Evolved sustained a substantial increase in power. Finally the feeling passed and the Cadre Evolved was left feeling elated at the surge of energy she felt beginning to well up within her.

Turning her attention to the bookcase holding the study material meant for her, Oskar walked over and picked up a few of the first year books before walking over to the circular table. Placing the books down, Oskar opened one to study. Sure with Silver Light's memories, Oskar could justify not actually needing to study but the memories were old and information held in them may not be very accurate anymore. As she read, Oskar began to muse about her current situation.

Overall she didn't mind the idea of spending the next few years just studying and spending her free time in Ponyville. After all compared to the NYZ this place was practically a paradise, no Blackwatch strike teams waiting to swoop down from above, no other Cadre Evolved constantly looking over her shoulder hoping she'd screw up and they would get to kill and consume her. Just a race of pacifistic Ponies with absolutely no knowledge of her presence, only of the disguise she had constructed to interact with them. Yes, Oskar would enjoy this sudden not unappreciated return to a fairly normal life, and with the person she was living with it would most likely be pleasantly calm.

'_After all…' _Oskar thought with a relaxed smile. _'How much trouble and excitement could a __**librarian**__ like Twilight get up too?'_

Letting out a calming breath Oskar returned to her studies.

**-TBC-**

AN: And another chapter finished! This would probably have taken another week to get out if I had a beta for this! I mean the Beta would be useful for fixing spelling and grammar errors as well as plot holes I may miss... oh well :/


	4. Chapter 4: Dream Life

'_I take it all back!' _Oskar thought sourly. _'Twilight is practically a living magnet for trouble! These past few weeks have been full of crazed adventures out of nowhere and chaotic meetings with her friends!'_

It was an early morning with the sun having just risen into the sky; the Cadre Evolved was in Twilight's library reflecting on her first month in Equestria with no little amount of negativity. The first week had started out predictably with Twilight tutoring her, usually until three but if Oskar asked the lessons would be extended to six. The rest of her day was hers to spend as she wished but even than Oskar didn't really relax. Although most would consider spending time socializing with people to be fun but in Oskar's case it was purely work, since Twilight had other friends Oskar set about becoming acquainted with them with the intention of one day being considered a trusted close friend, like with Twilight. So Oskar had set about "being herself" and getting to know the other ponies of Twilight's little circle.

Applejack was a fairly straightforward person; the path to becoming her friend was quite clear and simple to the viral being. As a cowpony working on a farm Applejack would likely appreciate a pony that wouldn't balk in the face of hard work or wasn't scared to get dirty, since the backstory Oskar had made for Emerald Gleaner was that she was a tough traveling pony, she could easily offer her help and get into Applejack's good graces simply enough. Oskar also made sure to take note of the rest of the Apple family though she did not make it a priority to get to know them, but she would make sure to do so when it proved vital to gaining the cowpony's trust.

Oskar at first thought that Rainbow Dash would be more difficult than Applejack, thinking the she would be dismissive of her being a ground bound pony. But Oskar's first meeting with the rainbow maned pegasus disproved that. Dash actually thought Oskar was pretty cool for not being a stereotypical wimpy, nerdy unicorn, as well as going into Everfree without a second thought. Although Oskar still had to prove her "cred" through several obstacle filled hoof races the viral being could now safely say she had Rainbow Dash's trust and friendship.

Rarity was definitely more difficult and would require some work but not because the other unicorn was being difficult, that fault lied with Oskar or more specifically Emerald Gleaner. No one was perfect and Oskar made sure to make her Emerald Gleaner persona reflect that, meaning that Emerald as a traveling pony who couldn't afford and most likely would look down on frivolous things would probably not easily get along with the Rarity, who adored and designed such things. Despite this it appeared that she was winning Rarity over, who probably thought Emerald was trying to get along with Twilight's other friends as a favour to the violet unicorn in question.

Pinkie Pie was… a different matter altogether. It appeared Oskar had made a steadfast friend just by meeting the pink excitable pony who went out of her way to plan party just to introduce and welcome her to the town. Pinkie was definitely an unpredictable factor that Oskar would have to be wary off if she ever made any plots that involved her but as of right now… Oskar was fairly sure she had nothing to worry about when it came to the party pony.

Fluttershy was an introverted little thing but besides that one would think Oskar could become a dear friend with a little effort and persistence. Well… true as that may be, Oskar was at this point going out of her way to not meet Fluttershy at her home and only tried to talk to the pegasus when she happened to be around. Why Oskar was doing this was because of paranoia on the Evolved's part. When Oskar had discovered the local wildlife's startlingly high level of intelligence she had begun to become rather wary of being around them while in disguise, thinking their instincts may somehow point her out as a predator despite the form she was in. With this in mind Oskar was loath to go see Fluttershy and raise suspicions if the pegaus' animals freaked out while she was around.

The first steps to gaining the bearers of the Elements of Harmony was what occupied Oskar's free time in her first week until the weekend when the party Pinkie planned began. That was when the craziness that surrounded the lives of the mares Oskar was getting to know started to let itself be known. During the party Spike had suddenly gotten a message from the Princess about an upcoming event called the Galloping Gala which was quickly followed by three tickets, apparently for Twilight, Emerald and Spike. From what Oskar had recalled from Steven's memories the Galloping Gala was this massive formal party slash celebration that was held yearly at Canterlot. Oskar was contemplating what kind of people would be there when Spike made it known that he wouldn't be going, saying he didn't want anything to do with "girly frew, frew stuff". Upon hearing that, Twilight's friends went from congratulating the three to asking Twilight if she could let one of them have the ticket. What followed was a large argument as each of Twilight's friends stated their reasons for wanting to go and even the other ponies at the party started asking Twilight for the free invitation. Needless to say the situation worsened from there with the party being brought to an expectedly quick end. The rest of the day was basically filled with Twilight's friends giving favours to Twilight and Oskar herself had quickly gone from amused to disbelieving of the situation as the rest of the town starting hounding Twilight to the point she basically had a breakdown with her friends and told them she didn't want to disappoint any of them. Eventually it ended with Twilight sending all the tickets back, even Oskar's… which the Evolved was rather annoyed about at the time. It all ended fairly well when Celestia sent Twilight a letter filled with eight golden tickets… it still didn't explain the utter insanity that had possessed the whole town earlier though.

A few days later apple picking season had apparently come and Applejack for some reason decided to handle the entire harvest by herself. And since Oskar was now a _good friend_ with the cowpony she had to be _concerned_ about her when she did stupid stuff now, as a real friend would. So an inwardly grumbling viral unicorn and an actually concerned Twilight spent several days trying to convince the stubborn earth pony she needed help. Eventually they succeeded but only after wasting several days and Applejack only managing to harvest half the orchard. Oskar considered the only good point of the whole experience being that she got to get some good practice with her telekinesis in.

And now just the day before was the whole situation with Rainbow Dash's friend Gilda who was a Griffin, never mind that the once shockingly sturdy chairs decided to break whenever Oskar tried to sit on them the day before that one. The day started normally enough with Twilight tutoring Oskar and couching the fake unicorn during her magical exercises. Then Pinkie Pie had come in talking about some "mean and grumpy griffon" named Gilda, apparently she had come to get some advice from Twilight on how to handle the griffon. Personally Oskar thought Pinkie should have asked someone else considering how naïve Twilight still was when it came to social problems, the Evolved considered herself proven right when Twilight told Pinkie that she was jealous of Gilda hanging out with Rainbow Dash, choosing to believe the best of people. Pinkie Pie soon left after that, grudgingly taking Twilight's advice. That day continued with Oskar going through more lessons until three thirty when she, Twilight and Spike were invited to a party being held at Sugercube Corner in Gilda's honor, which Oskar had been rather surprised about considering what Pinkie said about the Griffon earlier that day. The three had gone to the party and was soon treated to the sight of Gilda being the victim of several pranks. The Griffon soon had, had enough and blamed Pinkie Pie for the pranks as well as insulted everyone else in the room before telling Rainbow Dash that _they_ were leaving. Gilda, as well as Oskar, were proven wrong about the culprit of the pranks when Dash confessed that she was the one to set them up. Seeing her friend as the rude bully she was Dash told Gilda that she could find different friends to hang out with if picking on people was cool to her. Gilda apparently didn't take this very well and soon took off, insulting Dash before leaving, shrieking like an eagle.

'_Can't have one normal week around here.' _Oskar groused as she watched the morning sun rise through the library window. _'This better be a fluke and not a sign of how my time here is going to be. Bah, knowing my luck I'll end up being stuck in the middle of an invasion or something.'_

The viral being turned around when she heard Twilight enter the room, yawning and magically brushing her mane.

"Good morning Emerald." Twilight greeted "How was everything last night?"

"Long, boring, full of eye degrading studying." Oskar answered with a shrug. "The usual."

"I'm sure you will have nothing to worry about." Twilight reassured the fake unicorn as she went into the kitchen with said unicorn in tow. "Look at me for instance, I've nearly spent my entire life reading books and studying the academic arts and I still have perfect vision."

The two then took a seat at the kitchen table, awaiting the morning breakfast Spike usually prepared. But the two forgot one little fact.

"Haa, haa, haa…" Spike yawned loudly as he stepped into the kitchen.

It was still rather early and this was actually the time Spike would spend energising himself to fully wake up for a day of helping Twilight.

"Gee, Twilight…" Spike began when he saw the violet unicorn sitting at the table. "Trying to copy Emerald's sleeping habits? You've been getting up earlier and earlier… give me a couple minutes to wake up and I'll start cooking breakfast for us." Spike finished as stretched and yawned.

"Sorry Spike, take as long as you need, we can wait." Twilight told the baby dragon who waved in acknowledgement as he went to the bathroom to wash up.

"You know I'm fine with being alone all night." Oskar told Twilight. "You don't have to try to teach yourself to go without a full seven hours of sleep."

Being alone at night meant that Oskar could leave to do some covert business in town should the need arise and the Evolved didn't want Twilight around to complicate that. The last thing Oskar wanted was Twilight to look up some obscure sleep deprivation spell just to help her study.

"Oh… was it that obvious?" Twilight asked sheepishly.

"Twilight I'm fine." Oskar said tiredly. "I wasn't mauled or anything by the monsters in Everfree, I don't think anything would happen to me here in the safety of your library. There really is no need to get all obsessive."

"I'm sorry Emerald…" Twilight Apologised. "It's just when I thought you had been k-k-killed and I saw that meadow… and all that blood…"

'_Geez girl get a hold yourself!'_ Oskar thought as she inwardly snorted derisively. _'I'm your friend not your god damn husband.'_

"I fully and completely understand." Oskar reassured Twilight. "And I promised not to worry you like that again Twilight. Believe me when I say I will be going out of my way to do that."

"Thanks Emerald." Twilight said, giving her friend a quick hug. "I don't mean to be such a worry wart but… well let's move on. Are you going to be eating out here with us?"

Oskar was about to reply no and eat while studying in library like she always had in the past few weeks. But reconsidered when she thought about how Twilight was currently feeling.

"I'll think I'll eat out here with you guys for once." Oskar replied as Spike entered with several plates of food.

"Oh great, you're finally joining us!" Spike said with a smile as he placed a plate of various steamed vegetables in front of the fake unicorn. "Never thought I'd see another pony who's as obsessed with learning as Twilight!"

"Spike!" Twilight exclaimed. "I'm not obsessed! I'm just very… well I like to think of myself as driven."

"Sure thing Twilight, whatever you say." Spike said as he placed his own plate on the table which Twilight sighed at.

Oskar blinked in confusion when she saw that his plate was full of gems. An expression of total and utter stupefaction almost managed to appear upon the viral being's face when she saw Spike pick a large ruby and bite into it like an apple. After a few moments Spike finally noticed Oskar staring at him.

"Uhhhh… what?" Spike said, mid-chew.

"… You can eat gems?" Oskar finally said after a long moment of silence.

"Well… yeah." Spike answered. "What you never noticed?"

"Hmmm, you're always eating in the library Emerald." Twilight stated after a moment of pondering. "I'm surprised you never noticed Spike munching on gems between meals but then you are always busy studying for your lessons and talking to our friends."

"Speaking of which, is Applejack still mad about the… 'Super Wolf'?" Spike asked with a smile.

"Well when I saw her yesterday she seemed to be grumbling about something." Twilight answered. "So yes it's very likely."

Oskar didn't bother to hide the smile she had when she heard that, a few days ago she had finally grown tired of a vegetarian diet and decided to raid Applejack's farm for eggs and bacon. The thing is Oskar didn't know just how quick Applejack would be to react to threats to her farm. Oskar had only swallowed a few eggs when not ten seconds after the squawking began Applejack arrived, rearing for a fight. The viral being had proceeded to dodge the cowpony with her natural acrobatic ability for several moments before deciding that a breakfast sandwich would be good enough and retreated. Oskar of course had considered mauling the earth pony to death since no one would think to place suspicion on Emerald Gleaner for an animal attack but reconsidered, the loss of one of the bearers in such a way would very likely raise security immensely in Ponyville, not to mention the psychological effect it would have on Twilight, which would be ultimately detrimental to Oskar's learning.

Still smiling from the memory of the sandwiches she enjoyed in Everfree Oskar asked. "AJ still mad about that wolf showing her up huh?"

"It appears that way." Twilight replied with a small smile.

Oskar returned to eating her vegetables but kept glancing out of the corner of her eyes at Spike as he ate his gems.

'_Haven't forgot about you little guy.'_ Oskar thought. _'Wonder if your jaw muscles are "that" strong or if your teeth are just that sharp.'_

Soon the three were finished their respective meals and heading about their normal morning routines. Spike picking up the dishes to clean them, Oskar and Twilight headed to the library to begin the usual lessons.

"Now…" Twilight began, now standing beside a chalk board covered in writing and faceting Oskar, who was sitting in a desk. "In the third century of the princesses' rule-"

"We already covered this portion of history." Oskar quickly interrupted.

"What? When?!" A frazzled looking Twilight exclaimed as she started to rapidly flip through her teaching journal.

"Two days ago." Oskar answered tiredly. "Then the day after that we covered the times table and started to move on to divisions when the day ended."

"Ohhhhhh, I'd never thought I would say this but slow down a bit Emerald!" Twilight said as she began to scratch out several things in her journal and began frantically writing. "We've already covered six months of the material I had planned out! I never thought we would be getting through basic mathematics as quickly as we are history I expected as much since you've been reading those books so much but…"

"Should I just get on with my telekinesis practices while you work out a new schedule?" Oskar asked.

"Hmmm? Oh yeah, sure…" Twilight replied absently as she got into detailing out a new teaching schedule in her journal.

Rolling her eyes Oskar walked over to a case placed against a wall. Using what control she had the Cadre Evolved levitated the cast back to her desk and opened it, also with her telekinesis. In the case was several brass weights, there were a dozen small bullet shaped weights which weighed anywhere between an ounce and several pounds. With the smaller weights were four larger discs, they were brass as well with the smallest weighed ten pounds and the largest thirty pounds.

Oskar took all the weights out of the case and placed them on her desk before putting the case on the floor beside her desk and taking her seat. With a small frown of concentration Oskar began levitating the smaller weights first and moving them about experimentally before moving onto the larger ones. Frankly Oskar felt like she wasn't getting very far anymore with these little weights, after all she was throwing around some fairly large rocks back in Everfree, and that was only with barely any control! Huffing slightly as she felt little exertion from levitating all the weights and moving them in the air, Oskar decided to add the desk to her regimen and levitated that as well. Nodding in appreciation as she moved the other weights out of the way of desk and exerted herself, Oskar decided she had not met her limit just yet and looked around for something to levitate. The fake pony blinked in sudden realization and stopped her search for a heavy object, what was the heaviest thing there? Why the Blacklight being herself of course.

Oskar concentrated as she focused her magic on herself and attempted to levitate herself… but failed. She didn't know why her attempt to levitate herself failed; it wasn't that she was too heavy since she had failed to get even a grip on herself in the first place to know. For some reason her attempts to magically grasp herself simply did not find purchase.

'_Hmpf… fine then I won't levitate myself…' _Oskar thought as she narrowed her eyes at her seat. _'I'll levitate that instead.'_

The chair Oskar was sitting on lit up as it was enveloped by the fake unicorn's dark pink magical aura and slowly but surely floated into the air. Eventually after inching her way into the air Oskar joined her desk and weights in the air.

Oskar stayed like this for a minute, her breaths coming and going steadily and loudly. Suddenly the Evolved heard a gasp and looked out of the corner her eye to see Twilight staring wide eyed at her.

"What is it Twilight?" Oskar asked somewhat testily. "I need to concentrate, this isn't easy at all."

"Emerald you're levitating yourself!" Twilight exclaimed. "You've only just started and already-"

"Technically I'm not levitating myself." The fake unicorn interrupted.

"What?"

"I tried levitating myself, couldn't get a grip for some reason." Oskar answered. "So I settled for levitating the chair I was sitting on instead."

"Hmmm, interesting…" Twilight muttered as she narrowed her eyes and studied the sight before her intently. "Why did you decide to do that in the first place?"

"It was… getting… too easy!" Oskar ground out before quickly setting everything down as soft as she could with a loud sigh. "Yeah, I'm definitely going to do that more often… glad this dumb thing didn't break again…"

Twilight stared at Oskar in fascination as said viral being panted in slight exertion. After a few moments the violet unicorn nodded her head in decision.

"Emerald you have been progressing in telekinesis very rapidly." She stated and got the Cadre Evolved's attention. "And I think you are prepared for your first forays into spatial manipulation!"

"Spatial… you mean I'm ready for transfiguration right?" Oskar asked with a tilt of her head.

"Well… yes."

"Why didn't say that instead?"

"But I just did!" Twilight exclaimed only for Oskar to roll her eyes at her.

"Well, your sesquipedalian loquaciousness aside…" Oskar began with a sly smile, making Twilight pout at her. "Is there anything I need to start practicing transfiguring?" Oskar already knew what she needed of course but "Emerald" wasn't supposed to.

"Well I didn't think we would reach this point so rapidly, so we'll have to cut todays lessons short to buy some supplies from the store." Twilight said as she walked up to her room to get her saddle bags and some bits.

Oskar sat down at the base of the stairs and waited for Twilight to come back down. A few moments later Spike walked in from the kitchen and saw Oskar sitting at the base of the stairs.

"What's going on?" The little dragon asked when he came close.

"Twilight needs to head to the store to buy some more lesson supplies for me." The fake pony answered.

"Huh…" Spike remarked simply. "Think I'll come along, we're getting a bit low in the pantry."

"Oh, okay."

After another few moments Twilight finally came down from her room.

"Sorry that took so long, I was sure I had put my bits in my drawer… oh, hello Spike, are you coming along?" Twilight asked upon seeing the baby dragon standing beside Oskar.

"Yep, our pantry is getting a little empty." Spike explained and when Oskar stood up fully he quickly climbed up to stand on her back. "Are we ready to go?"

Oskar raised her brows in surprise of Spike's action but then just shrugged; it wasn't like Spike was heavy or anything. Besides, she had seen Twilight carry Spike around like this many times before.

"Yes, let's get going!" With that, the two unicorns plus one dragon left the house.

Shortly after leaving the house Twilight shook in her head in wonder.

"I still can't believe we're already at this point in your education Emerald." Twilight stated, smiling at Oskar. "It's utterly amazing how fast you are learning magic."

"It's not only me Twilight; I do have a rather awesome teacher." Oskar replied rather truthfully.

"Yeah!" Spike immediately agreed. "Having the most magical unicorn in Ponyville as your teacher is a huge advantage in learning magic. But you're still pretty great Emerald, especially when you think about what your talent is."

"Oh Spike, I'm sure there's plenty of ponies here in town that are just as magical as me." Twilight replied modestly.

"Wait, what did you mean about my talent." Oskar asked the baby dragon on her back.

"Only that most unicorns pick up magic tricks concerning their talent." Spike said, pointing at Oskar's cutie mark. "But Twilight's talent _is_ magic so she has LOTS of tricks and learns them quickly."

"Really?" Oskar said, looking at Twilight.

"Well… I do admit to knowing a few more spells then the average unicorn." Twilight replied somewhat reluctantly.

"Bah, as if I'd let some over rated flank paint tell me what to do." Oskar said with a scoff, frowning at the thought of only learning spells that concerned finding and gathering emeralds.

"What do you mean by that Emerald?" Twilight asked, a little confused over her friend's reaction.

"Do you honestly believe I would _limit_ myself to only learning just enough magic to find gems?" Oskar stated. "That I would stand by and watch as you learn to bend reality to your will, while I play in the dirt?"

"Emerald…"

"No!" Oskar stated firmly. "I will learn it all, from simple levitation to full on gravity reversals, I WILL not stop at just finding shiny rocks in the dirt."

"If that's how you feel about it Emerald then I'm behind you one hundred percent." Twilight said with a smile. "I won't stop until you learn everything I know and more. Besides, if a cutie mark dictated what a pony would be doing for the rest of their lives then Rarity would be a miner, not a fashion designer."

"She would a very glamorous miner!" Oskar agreed with a laugh. "Thanks Twilight, you are a great friend and a fantastic teac-"

"Gang way! Coming throu- ARRRGH!" A voice yelled before turning into a pained shout.

Oskar blinked before looking behind her to see two young colts on the ground behind her, their eyes spinning in their sockets from having run into the dense viral being.

"Wh-where'd that wall come from?" The chubbier of the two colts asked in a daze.

"Snips, Snails? You guys alright?" Spike asked from atop Oskar's back.

"Y-yeah, I think so…" Snips replied as he and his friend shakily got back onto their hooves.

"Wow Miss Emerald!" Snails exclaimed. "You're as tough as all the ponies say you are!"

"You two should be more careful." Twilight chastised lightly. "Why were you two in such a big hurry in the first place?"

"You guys haven't heard?!" Snails exclaimed. "There's a new unicorn in town!"

"Yeah! They say she's got more magical powers than any other unicorn ever!" Snips added.

"Really?" Oskar stated disbelievingly, while her knowledge wasn't comprehensive Silver Light knew enough about current magical masters that Oskar could honestly doubt such a unicorn's existence. "Well consider me a sceptic."

"Yeah!" Spike agreed with Oskar. "That honor should go to Twilight!"

"Where is this unicorn?" Twilight asked.

"Ho, she's in the town square." Snails said before suddenly bolting away. "Come on!"

"Yeah! Follow us!" Snips said shouted back as he galloped after his friend.

"I suppose we're putting off the shopping trip for now?" Oskar asked upon seeing Twilight walking after the two colts.

"Are you coming Emerald?" Twilight asked.

"Come on Emerald!" Spike urged from atop the fake unicorn's back. "I wanna see who this so called 'most magical unicorn ever' is."

"Alright, I suppose my lesson supplies can wait." Oskar stated and began trotting forward. "This sounds like somepony has an over inflated ego though."

Soon enough the three were in the town square where a stage had been set up, on the stage was a light blue unicorn wearing a star spangled cape and pointy hat.

"Come one, come all!" She announced grandly over the crowd as the three made their way to the front. "Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

With that declaration a cloud of sparkles appeared over the show pony's visage to the crowd's apparent awe.

"Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!" Trixie continued bombastically.

"Oh she speaks in third person! I can already tell that she is just the best sort of pony you can be friends with." Oskar commented sarcastically as Trixie let off several fireworks to the crowd's delight.

"With that I think we can agree with each other Emerald darling." Rarity replied.

Oskar turned and saw that not only was Rarity there but so were the rest of Twilight's friends. Turning back to watch Trixie show off and boast for a few moments, Oskar couldn't help but speak her mind.

"Braggart… wonder if she'll like to see my skill at fighting up close and personal?" The viral unicorn wondered aloud.

"C-calm down Emerald!" Fluttershy urged. "Nopony wants to see you hit her!"

Oskar simply gave a deadpan look to the timid pegasus and pointed at Applejack and Rainbow Dash, the latter of which was scowling pretty openly.

"Well… almost nopony…" Fluttershy amended.

Trixie meanwhile was still showing off and wowing the crowd with her fireworks displays but she was also carefully studying their mood. It didn't take her long to spot Oskar and see that the fake unicorn was in no way impressed with her show, so Trixie quickly trotted over to show her up and besides … it would make her feel so good to make a fool of such a beautiful unicorn.

"Well, well, well, it seems we have a _neigh_sayer in the audience." Trixie drawled as she came to a stop before Oskar. "Who is so _ignorant_ as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do you not know that you're in the presence of the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?"

"Hey ya don't nee-" Applejack began.

"I am not blind and neither am I stupid." Oskar interrupted. "I know very that Twilight is right there and that she has no problem with me standing beside her." The viral being said, pointing at the now blushing unicorn in question.

"Grrrr, Trixie was referring to _herself_!" The showpony ground out.

"Well how was I supposed to know?" Oskar asked faux innocently. "Since the Great and Powerful Trixie refers to herself every other sentence when she speaks in the grating and annoying third person?"

"You dare mock Trixie?" Trixie said imperiously. "Well then, I hereby challenge you Ponyvillian, anything you can do, I can do better!"

"_Really_?" Oskar said in a sickly sweet tone, her head slightly tilted to one side. "You can be a better uneducated, dirt poor orphan then me? Now this I can't wait to see."

Silence. Dead silence. Trixie was on the stage frozen in a dramatic pointing pose, her eyes slightly widened. The crowd wasn't much better as they stared agape at Oskar for bringing up her 'tragic past' so indifferently. Finally after a few moments Trixie brought a hoof to her mouth and cleared her throat loudly.

"BEHOLD!" The showpony shouted loudly as large fireworks went off, firmly regaining the crowd's attention. Then she quickly wondered off to a different part of the stage, intent on recapturing the crowd's adoration.

"Yeah you better run." Oskar muttered.

"Emerald!" Twilight exclaimed as quietly as she could. "Why did you have to talk about yourself like that?!"

"What? You mean about the fact I'm an uneducated dirt poor orphan?" Oskar replied.

"You shouldn't try to make light of what happened to you Emerald." Twilight said with a frown. "It was a horrible terrible thing that nopony should have had to go through."

"Oh as if anypony cares about my past." Oskar stated and got a glare from Twilight as well as quite a few ponies that managed to hear what she had said.

"We care Emerald, don' cha mistake that." Applejack replied. "Specially me, grew up with a big ole family but ya didn't even get ta have your parents for long."

"Okay, I admit to maybe being a little hasty in saying that." Oskar admitted honestly. "But really when it comes to what happened to me I don't really care anymore, it was the past and it isn't going to happen to me again." The viral being said firmly before turning her attention back to the stage, it seemed Trixie had finally managed to recapture the crowd's wonder and was back to boasting.

"…Trixie stepped in, and with her awesome magic, vanquished the Ursa Major and sent it back to its cave deep within the Everfree Forest!" The showpony announced with another round of fireworks going off behind her.

It wasn't too long after that, that Applejack quickly grew tired of the unicorn's showboating and stepped up to the stage in an attempt to put her in her place. The cowpony had tried to outdo the show mare with her lasso skills but was soon tied up with her own rope via Trixie's magic. Quickly following suit, Rainbow Dash rushed onto the stage, angry that someone other than her was hogging the spotlight. Her attempt was not going nearly as well as the pegasus hoped.

Oskar frowned in quickly mounting irritation as Trixie's ego seemed to visibly grow with each victory over Twilight's friends. Easily pushing down her irritation, Oskar turned to Twilight who was watching events unfold on the stage.

"Why don't you step up there and show Trixie _real_ magic?" Oskar suggested, after all, the show mare seemed to use her fireworks rather than use her magic for effects. "The others can't seem to outdo her showmareship, maybe having somepony who could use magic as well can outdo her?"

"Hey yeah Twilight!" Spike exclaimed in agreement. "You should go up there and show that pony how it's done!"

"I-I don't know you two." Twilight replied uneasily. "Look at my friends; they don't seem to like how she's showing off her talent…"

"Well yeah, but what's that got to do with you?" Oskar asked.

"If I go up there and showup Trixie with _my_ talent I won't be any better than her, the others might even resent me for it!" Twilight whispered urgently.

"But Twilight!" Spike complained immediately as Oskar tilted her head and gave a disbelieving stare.

"No Spike." Twilight said with a shake of her head. "I'm not going to risk alienating my friends."

'_Your naiveté is alienating __**me**__.'_ Oskar thought in reply.

"What this jerk needs is another unicorn to show her up!" Dash muttered as she rejoined her friends.

"A unicorn to get into an awesome magic on magic contest with her!" Pinkie agreed

"A real unicorn to unicorn tussle." Applejack added with a nod.

"Enough. Enough, all of you. I take your hint, but Rarity is above such nonsense." Rarity stated with a dramatic toss of her mane.

"Oh don't you start talking like her." Oskar said with a minor glare. "Bad enough you waste all that time on frilly uselessness."

"Hmph, I'm going to pretend you didn't say that rather than get into another verbal spar over the merits of my profession." Rarity stated snootily. "As I was saying before I so rudely interrupted, Rainbow Dash and Applejack may behave like ruffians, but Rarity conducts herself with beauty and grace."

"Ugh, I just finished telling you not to talk like her!" Oskar exclaimed as Rarity ascended the stage.

Oskar shook her head as she watched Rarity perform on the stage, she could tell this was not going to end in the glamorous unicorn's favour, even more so when she took the expression on Trixie's face into account. Oskar took another glance around the crowd and saw that everyone else was pretty much smitten with the show mare, considering that Twilight seemed determined to not "alienate" her friends.

"Come on Twilight." Oskar said with a sigh. "Unless you want to see Rarity lose-"

"MY HAIR!"

"Too late." Oskar stated and snorted when she saw what Rarity was freaking out over as she bolted past. "Seriously? One little magical dye job and she loses it? Anyways, come on Twilight, I want to get my transfiguration supplies."

"Yeah okay Emerald, let's get going." Twilight said and quickly led the way, managing to leave the plaza before Trixie could single her out.

About a few moments after leaving Spike spoke up.

"Twilight you could've easily beaten that mare." Spike grumbled from atop Oskar's back. "All she had going for her was her fancy fireworks. You could have outdone that, _easily_."

"I'm going to have to agree with Spike, Twilight." Oskar said. "I know of all the prominent masters of magic from my studies, and there was no mention of a Trixie anywhere, books were a pretty recent print too. I doubt she could have matched anything _the_ personal student of Celestia could cast."

"I really don't want to show off guys, especially after how badly my friends took Trixie's bragging." Twilight said resolutely.

'_I was actually hoping she had a different reason, this is just too naïve.'_ Oskar thought with a frown.

"They're your friends Twilight." Oskar replied. "I'm sure they would have a different reaction to you showing off then Trixie, a far better reaction since you would be a whole lot more modest about it."

"Maybe… oh, we're here." Twilight stated pointing to a store and quickly trotted inside.

'_Whatever…' _The Cadre Evolved thought with a dismissive shake of her head. _'Making her more sociable is __**not**__ a priority, ergo not my problem. If she wants to think that way let her.'_

With that Oskar quickly followed after Twilight into the store.

**ALPHA**

It was now later in the day; the sun was starting its descent towards the horizon, Oskar, Twilight and Spike were back in the library. Twilight was reading a bestiary, Spike was finishing up some chores and Oskar was doing a bit of private reading on Canterlot and the palace at her desk. The Cadre Evolved had also been busy practicing her transfiguration, as was attested by the light green wooden block on her desk.

The little block used to be pine colored, but after _hours_ of concentrated effort Oskar managed to turn it the light shade of green it was. The sure work required for this simple change was rather disheartening at first for the fake unicorn but just as gaining skill in telekinesis, eventually Oskar would be able to make great changes in shape and form then just altering the color.

'_Hmmm… the design is… interesting.' _Oskar thought as she studied various pictures of the palace and city. _'The engineers in me are crying though, if it weren't for magic I'm sure the whole city would fall off the mountain face onto the grasslands below.'_

The Cadre Evolved turned to glance at a book on the circular table, a book on Cloudsdale.

'_As structurally bad as Canterlot is, Cloudsdale is much worse.' _Oskar levitated the book over and opened it to a page depicting the cloud city. _'I mean clouds? Seriously? I know they're solid to pegasi but living that high up… and without any guardrails at all. What if a pegasus still learning to fly got too close to the edge? Do they just trust there to be a pegasus nearby to catch them?' _Shaking her head in bemusement, Oskar's thoughts began to wander. _'Did Dash bring Gilda to Cloudsdale? It must have been tiring for the griffin, just hovering everywhere while the pegasi just stroll about on the clouds.'_

"Heh." Oskar chuckled aloud at the thought and got Twilight's attention.

"What's funny?" Twilight asked, looking up from a page depicting a bear with an ethereal night sky hide.

"Did Dash ever bring Gilda to Cloudsdale?" Oskar asked.

"I… don't think so." Twilight replied after a moment.

"I just thought it would be funny if she did go there." Oskar said. "She would have to hover everywhere and fly through the doors and walls."

"Actually." Twilight began. "Griffins can walk on clouds too, in fact… I have only read a few passages mentioning it but griffins also handle their own weather… I'm not too sure though, I may be misremembering." The violet unicorn stated and started looking at her shelves to refresh her knowledge on griffins.

"Really?" Oskar said earnestly. "Griffins can do things pegasi can?"

"Well I'm absolutely certain they can walk on clouds." Twilight replied absently as she searched for an elusive volume. "Whether or not they can manipulate the weather like pegasi, I'll be finding out for certain in a few minutes."

"Hmmm… interesting." Oskar stated.

"Very." Twilight agreed with a nod as she continued her search.

'_So griffins are very close to pegasi ability wise…'_ Oskar thought. _'Perhaps consuming Gilda would give me at least some sort of handle over pegasi magic?'_ With that thought, Oskar sent a viral pulse though she wasn't confident it would come back. _'Gilda has already been gone for a whole day; she would be miles away by now probably not even in the kingdom anymore thanks to her flight. Even if I decided to track her down the hard way, I wouldn't be able to leave Ponyville for long periods because of thi-" _The pulse came back. _'Well, well… I expected her to be long gone from what she said before leaving but she's practically right next door, in Everfree no less! Hmm… I can definitely collect her before nightfall but what should I say to Twilight? Well… why don't I just tell her I'm going out for a while? It's not like she'll immediately assume the worst just because I want to go out for a bit.'_

Nodding in decision, Oskar gathered up her books and the little wooden block to put away. That done she turned to Twilight.

"Hey Twilight I'm heading out for a little while." The viral being said. "I'll be back by nightfall."

"Ah, there you are." Twilight said as she pulled out a book from the shelf before turning to Oskar. "Okay Emerald, see you later, stay safe!"

"See ya!" Oskar shouted back as she exited and closed the door behind her.

Now outside of the library, Oskar stared up into the sky. The sun was just beginning its decent into the horizon, turning the edges of the blue sky orange. Oskar turned to walk down a street, one that was leading away from Everfree in order to avoid another repeat of someone spotting her and telling people she was heading in that direction.

The streets of Ponyville weren't as lively at this hour but there was still quite a few ponies walking about. And as Oskar made her way to a secluded spot outside of town she saw that not only were ponies not staring at her, but were actually going out of their way to not look at her, which the virus appreciated though wondered why they were staring in the first place. Truth be told, pretty much all the colts got told off by the mares for staring at Oskar, especially those that had girlfriends.

Now nearing the edge of town the Cadre Evolved quickly ducked into an alley and peaked out to see if there any ponies nearby. Seeing none Oskar quickly dissolved into a mass of tendrils before quickly reforming into a large wolf. Oskar took another quick look around before bolting from the alley and out of town.

Skirting the far perimeter of the town, Oskar made his way into Everfree forest as the sun continued it's decent and quickly sent out another pulse once he was within the infamous woods.

'_Hmmm, it looks like she hasn't moved.' _Oskar stated once the pulse returned. _'That probably means she is settling in whatever shelter she found or made here. I hope it's a cave, it'll be a whole lot easier to corner her if I somehow spook her before getting close enough to catch her.'_

Oskar's wolf form was a gray streak as he bounded quickly through the thick undergrowth, sending out the occasional pulse to stay locked on Gilda's position. Eventually Oskar slowed and quickly ducked into a bush before carefully look out, before him was a cave with a light emitting from deep within.

The Blacklight being quickly shifted into a rat for its smaller stature and quickly darted into the mouth of the cave. Quietly navigating the rock floor of the cave, Oskar moved deeper into the cave until eventually caught sight Gilda lying before a fire. The griffin fit the image of a sulky teenager as she stared broodily into the fire, her head resting on her crossed forelegs.

Seeing there was space behind her, Oskar moved to get into an ideal ambush position before reforming into his default form to take the griffin.

Carefully making his way across the cave floor, Oskar kept his eyes on the griffin. He could just let the griffin see him and perhaps let her eat him if she decided to, but Oskar rather disliked the feeling of being eaten despite the fact that anyone who did so was basically committing suicide. So the viral being continued on his way across the floor, until he finally got into position behind Gilda.

Now morphing into his default form, Oskar's size slowly increased as he tried to keep the element of surprise. Suddenly several stones tumbled across the cave floor from Oskar's increase in size.

Gilda turned her head to look behind and widened her eyes in surprise when she saw Oskar standing silently behind her.

"Wha?" The griffin began before Oskar sprang forward.

Leaping forward, Oskar brought his foot down on Gilda's back with a deafening crack.

"ARRRRGH!" Gilda shouted from the sharp pain in her back before a pair of hands enclosed upon her head.

Oskar took a hold of Gilda's beak and the back of her head as the now paralyzed griffin thrashed in his grip, her claws flew and her wings flapped wildly in panicked attempt to free herself. With a frown and tensing of his arms, Oskar twisted. There was a series of sickening cracks echoing throughout the cave as Gilda's head was twisted to the point of nearly being wrenched off, then there was stillness, stillness and silence.

Oskar released his grip on Gilda and let her fall to the floor in a so very doll like manner. Still standing on her shattered back, Oskar stared at the body with a deeply questioning expression on his face. He stayed like this for several long moments before finally dissolving into a mass of black tendrils that dug into and consumed Gilda's remains. A moment later Oskar was lying on the floor in Gilda's form and grasping her head as she quickly shunted off the flood of memories, preferring to save them for later.

The Cadre Evolved lied on the floor staring into the fire in almost exactly the same position Gilda was in moments ago. After several long moments Oskar quickly kicked out the fire with her hind legs and moved to the mouth of the cave.

Now outside Oskar took a quick search of her surroundings and upon finding nothing in the vicinity she quickly reformed into a wolf.

'_I'll save trying to fly for later.' _Oskar thought as he made his way through the forest. _'It's pretty dark now; Twilight might be getting worried about me. I'll head out to Everfree tomorrow after lessons are finished. It'll definitely be a game changer being able to fly, water won't be such a massive obstacle anymore.'_

Eventually Oskar came to the forests edge outside Ponyville and came to an odd sight. There was a massive purple bear floating into the forest from Ponyville and suckling on the tank of a water tower like some massive baby bottle.

Oskar stared for several long moments until the bear disappeared behind the trees before turning into Emerald Gleaner.

'_What did you get yourself into this time Twilight?' _Oskar thought with a sigh as she made her way back into Ponyville.

Walking through the empty streets of Ponyville Oskar eventually came across a crowd of laughing and cheering ponies. At the very center of this crowd was Twilight, Spike, Snips and Snails. The latter three had moustaches on their faces.

Bemused look plastered openly across her features, Oskar approached the four. "Hey guys, what did I miss?"

**BETA**

"It was so awesome!" Spike cheered. "Twilight was just giving off massive amounts of magic and the next moment that ursa minor was floating back into Everfree!"

It was a little later into the night, the moon was high in the sky and the two unicorn and one baby dragon was back in the library. Said baby dragon was still telling Oskar all the details of Twilight's accomplishment despite having done _several_ times already.

"I get it Spike." Oskar said with an amused smile. "Twilight is awesomeness incarnate; I think I already said that much earlier today."

"W-well I wouldn't go that far." Twilight said with a bashful smile, her cheeks flushed and her ears drooping. "I admit it was a fairly good display of magic but…"

"You're selling yourself short Twilight." Oskar responded with a slight honest smile. "It's nice to see somepony with so much potential be so modest, it truly is. But you have to take credit for how great your accomplishments are sometime."

"Thank you Emerald." Twilight said with an utterly crimson face.

Oskar only shook her head at the sight, wide smile on her face.

'_How cute!'_ The Cadre Evolved thought. _'I never get tired of that look, you never really see people get so adorably flushed over little things.'_

"No problem!" Oskar replied with a bright smile, stepping forward to give Twilight a hug.

Twilight gave a light smile at the embrace before spotting Spike stretching and letting out a loud yawn.

"Well it's getting late; we should get ready for bed." Twilight told Oskar.

Letting go of Twilight, Oskar responded. "Sure."

"Haaaaa, think I'll get a gem for a light snack before bed." Spike muttered with a yawn before disappearing into the kitchen.

In a few moments Oskar and Twilight were up in their room and settling in. Twilight was sitting up in her bed with a lit lamp on her bedside table, intending to do some reading before bed.

"Are you sure you don't mind me reading Emerald?" Twilight asked with some concern. "I could go to my library bed if it bothers you."

"Really Twilight, it's no problem." Oskar reassured. "Besides, if I have a problem shouldn't I be the one to go to the library bed?"

"You're my guest and my friend, I'd rather it be me." Twilight replied.

"Well I really don't have a problem with the light." Oskar responded and with a fake yawn said. "Good night Twilight."

"Night Emerald, sweet dreams."

Oskar turned over in her bed and slightly buried her face under the covers. Normally Oskar would only have to wait a half an hour at the most before heading down to the library, but considering Twilight was doing some light reading, the fake unicorn was preparing for a long boring wait. That is until a thought struck her.

'_This bed is really soft.' _Oskar thought. _'It's been so long since I've been able to lie on a bed, the best I've ever managed before was a mattress on the floor that would get squashed the moment I lied down. And this place… it can be so hectic at times but in comparison… so peaceful. Maybe… maybe I can just sleep for once? Yes, to sleep, perchance to dream.' _The Cadre Evolved quoted roughly. _'Yeah, let's give this a shot, do something that won't hurt anyone for once…'_

_With that, Oskar fell to sleep instantly with a sigh… and dreamed._

**GAMMA**

Princess Luna stood serenely in a misty plane of gray, the air filled with large bubbles that seemed to hold entire lively worlds within.

It had been over a thousand years since the Princess of the Night was able to fulfill one of her duties, and the Moon Alicorn was savoring the return to her duties after so long. A light smiled played across her features as a bubble displaying a wall eyed pegasus eating a massive muffin floated by.

Luna closed her eyes and simply took in the soft sounds that permeated the dream realm, the sounds of laughter, the sounds of happiness, and the sounds of dreams. The Moon Princess sighed deeply, so very glad to back after so long, back to enjoying the peace of-

Suddenly a horrific scream shattered the peace.

Luan's eyes widened in shock at the terrible sound and looked for its source. For a few moments the Princess saw nothing but the usual dream bubbles that drifted here and there, unaffected by the horrific noise. But Luna managed to catch a flash of black and red at the corner of her eye and quickly bolted in its direction.

Before long Luna found herself standing before the source, her mouth slightly agape at the sight. It was a bubble like the others but unlike the other dream bubbles its surface was oily black, dark clouds churned within, blocking the view of the dream and blood red tendrils of lightning surged across its surface, lashing out at anything and everything they could reach.

Luna immediately decided that this was the worst nightmare she had ever seen, and she had not even entered it yet! Schooling her features into a determined frown, Luna leapt forward, intent on ending the nightmare and helping the pony that was suffering from it.

Luna's ears were assaulted by horrible and strange sounds the moment she entered the nightmare. Flying in midair Luna took stock of her surroundings and saw only the black churning clouds she had seen before, but now she realized it was not clouds but smoke from a fire she was seeing. Luna quickly flew forward to get out of the column of smoke she was in.

As she did so Luna noticed an odd noise fill the air, it was almost like that of a flag snapping in a strong breeze but was more rhythmic. The Princess was suddenly sent tumbling as an attack chopper flew through the smoke and past her. Quickly stabilising her flight, Luna saw she was out of the smoke and widened her eyes at the almost alien sight before her.

It was a city, very much like that of Manehatten but the buildings here were taller, _much_ taller. The sky was filled with unnatural blood red clouds, there was fire and smoke rising everywhere Luna looked. The sounds of horrified screaming followed by animalistic howls filled the Moon Alicorn's ears. It was almost enough that Luna herself wanted to leave this place, but the Princess was determined to help the pony suffering from such a horrifying nightmare and quickly focused on finding the dreamer.

Using her senses Luna was able to pinpoint where the dreamer was and flew over several streets before landing on the roof of a building that seemed to overlook a battle. Strange creatures and strange machinery was everywhere. Down below was what looked to be mostly hairless apes wearing clothing running in panic, on the opposite end of the street, howling in directionless rage were twisted horrifying creatures. Most looked like a sick and twisted parody of the apelike creatures below but others were far more appalling in shape, long twisted blades of bone ripped through arms of raw muscle and tendon, blood red skinless flash shined in the light of the day as the abominations run in terrifyingly fast charges to the helpless apelike beings below. Just as the shocked Moon Alicorn thought she was about to witness a brutal massacre, salvation arrived.

The attack chopper from before swooped overhead and unleashed a storm of pod rockets along with a punishing hail of gunfire, decimating the Redlight horde. Several flatbed charged into the fray, unloading their cargo of battle ready marines. Pinpoint gunfire along with the occasional missile flew at the onrushing mass of infected, quickly driving them back as the chopper continued to rain death from above.

Luna watched on, reason for her being here temporarily forgotten in the face of what she was seeing. The Princess thought victory for the soldiers below was now a sure thing, once again she was proven wrong. Luna nearly added her own screams to the cacophony surrounding her when a massive over muscled creature landed next to her with a crash. The abomination next to her was barely anything more than a mass of muscles gleaming with _something,_ two black pits served as its eyes and all four legs ended in razor sharp claws.

The Hunter next to Luna smashed both of its powerful claws into the roof of the building, lifting a several hundred pound chunk of concrete from the roof above its head. With a mighty roar the Redlight creature tossed the concrete wreckage at the chopper. The chopper saw the Hunter at the last second and attempted to pull away. It was a futile effort; the wreckage hit the choppers tail rotor, sending shattered bits of rotor blades everywhere. The chopper went into an uncontrolled spin and soon crashed into the street. The force of its impact and shrapnel from the ensuing explosion served to decimate half the marine force trying to save the civilians. The situation only grew from bad to worse as four more Hunters joined their fellow on the roof and roared out a challenge as a fresh horde of infected flooded the street.

The Hunters' challenge was answered by an Abrams that just rolled around a corner, turned its turret and fired. The upper body of one of the Hunters immediately disappeared in a pink mist when the tank shell hit it squarely in the chest, making Luna scream in horror of the brutality of it all. The four remaining Hunters quickly leapt down into the mass of infected and bashed their way through the crowd, charging at the remaining marines and tank once clear.

The marines and the Abrams let loose at the approaching infected hordes. One Hunter was crippled when a tank shell ripped apart its hind legs, another was brought down to a lucky head shot with a rocket launcher and another was brought down to combined gunfire from all the marines. The last however had managed to reach the marines and immediately became a whirlwind of blood, gore and death, killing six marines in its near wild swinging. The Abrams quickly reversed, ripping into the Hunter with its heavy machine gun all the while. Despite the deadly hail of gunfire tearing into it the Hunter managed to grab a hold of another marine, intending to bite into him. The marine seeing he was about to die quickly pulled out a frag grenade forced it into the Hunter's mouth as it bit down, killing both the Hunter and the marine when it exploded.

During this the stronger of the infected managed to reach the marine lines thanks to the distraction provided by the Hunters and began ripping into them. Before long only a handful of marines and the tank were left standing between the infected and the civilians.

Above watching it all was Princess Luna who, despite knowing this was a dream, could not help but feel an immense sense of helplessness in the face of the carnage before her. The Moon Alicorn could not but help but think what had the dreamer had suffered in order for their sub-conscious create such horrors. And with that line of thinking Luna suddenly remembered she needed to find the dreamer to help them. Suddenly the noise that permeated the air seemed to become dull and muffled.

"OSKAR!" A feminine scream rang out, loud and clear.

"MOM!" A young male voice answered, as clear as the other one.

Luna stared down and found her vision drawn to one of the ape creatures below. He looked young and wore a gray hooded sweater with blue pants that seemed to be made out of a hardy material, he also had rather pale skin and very light blond hair from what Luna could see from her position.

On the street below Oskar was staring fretfully towards woman a distance away, his mother. She had pale skin, icy blue eyes and platinum blonde hair like her son, and wore dark sneakers, tan colored pants and a zipped up white hoodie.

"MOM!" Oskar shouted again and managed to get his mother's attention.

Finally catching sight of her son in the chaos, Oskar's mother took off at a dead run towards him when the ground began to shake.

"COPPERHEAD!" One of the marines yelled as the tentacle form of the beast burst from a ground at the far end of the street.

The Copperhead let out a loud ear piercing squeal and quickly took a ruined ambulance into its grasp. Just before the massive Redlight creature threw the ambulance the Abrams fired off a round that ripped out a chunk of the Copperhead's flesh. The beast squealed as it threw the ambulance.

Oskar stared in disbelieving horror as he saw that the ambulance was falling short of its intended target and was falling towards his mother instead. He shouted and gestured wildly to his onrushing mother but she only saw the falling vehicle coming when its shadow was casted over her.

The ambulance landed with a crash, bouncing lightly when it impacted the ground rolled forward until coming to stop before Oskar. The young teen fell to his knees staring blankly at the blood covered crumpled roof of the ambulance. All around him the battle continued to rage as support arrived in the form of another attack chopper with fresh waves of marines.

Upon seeing the person the dream was centered on Luna intended to go to meet with the tortured soul when the world suddenly began to change.

The sounds faded away as the whole world seemed to blur, leaving only Oskar. The teen below began to change, he became slightly taller, his clothes changed, he now wore a pair of blue sneakers, tan cargo pants, a white unzipped hoodie revealing a light blue shirt and white bucket hat sat atop his head.

After Oskar's changes the world faded back in. The buildings were not only more damaged but seemed to have these disturbing fleshy growths with orange bioluminescence coming out of them. The streets were not only filled with twisted infected beings that somehow looked worse than before, but completely rusted vehicles as well.

Oskar's demeanor from before had changed as well, before he was on his knees in horrified disbelief, now he was kneeling down in solemn silence with a sole rose on the street before him.

Luna stared in some confusion, whereas before when the twisted creatures were leaping and snarling at anything not their kind, now they were simply stumbling about content to ignore the now older being below. The Princess looked about wildly when a now family rumble met her ears.

A Hydra burst out of the ground on the end of the street Oskar was facing. Looking up from the rose he was gazing at, Oskar's eyes only darkened and he rose to his feet with a low growl.

Expecting a futile charge, Luna was utterly shocked when the creature below charged with incredible speed, simply shoving any infected that happened to be between him and the Hydra out of the way. The Alicorn's shock only increased when his arms changed into brutal claws in a burst of black tendrils.

With a powerful leap Oskar landed on the Hydra with a meaty thud. The great infected beast roared in agonized rage as Oskar sunk both of his claws into it. Ripping out one claw in gory fashion, Oskar left the other in the viral flesh, tendrils extended from the blades, digging into the Hydra and anchoring Oskar further.

The Hydra roared and thrashed about but Oskar stayed put and started ripping into the Hydra with his free claw. The young Cadre Evolved sent chunks of vile flesh flying as he ripped open an ever larger gash in the beast's side. Finally Oskar seemed satisfied with the size of the wound and quickly dissolved into a mass of tendrils that disappeared into the open wound.

The Hydra continued to thrash and roar but now great spouts of blood spewed out of its mandibles whenever it did so. Disgusting black veins rapidly covered its form along with large sores appeared, bladed tendrils began rip out of the flesh, appearing out of the sores. With an agonized whine the Hydra fell to the ground and began shuddering as the sound of tearing flesh filled the air.

Finally with a massive explosion of blood and gore half of the Hydra was scattered all over the street. Oskar stood on the pile of meat that was the Hydra, utterly pristine despite the carnage just moments ago.

Luna stood in utterly horrified confusion of what she had seen. Before she thought the dreamer was a victim but now she wasn't so sure. Consequently the Alicorn did not exactly know what to do, before she would have simply approached the being below and tried to help him, but now…

"Still get psychotic episodes whenever you see one of my pets Oskar?" A voice asked with a dark chuckle.

Luna looked up to see that another ape like being stood on one of the buildings opposite her. He wore a coat that seemed to be made out of a black shiny material, a dark gray hoodie and a pair of blue pants made out of some hardy material.

"Dr. Mercer." Oskar greeted respectfully and leapt down from the Hydra corpse. "What do I owe this pleasure?"

"Just thought I'd check up on one of my more covert minded operatives." Alex Mercer stated with a shrug as he took a seat on the edge of the roof. "It's funny… when I think about it I don't think you ever had an open confrontation with Blackwatch, always sneaking about, being… _subversive_."

"But not to you sir." Oskar calmly reassured.

"No, not to me." Alex replied, his eyes glinting in the shadows of his hood. "Still… what's the matter Oskar? Scared of the humans and their pea shooters?"

"I assure you sir; I do not fear any human or their guns." Oskar said hands clasped behind his back. "I've just always preferred subtlety to outright warfare. If required I will enter open combat, you only need to order it and I shall do it sir."

"But not in your default form right?" Alex asked with a smirk.

"No sir." Oskar replied simply.

"Hmmm…" Alex sat on the roof ledge for several moments, staring coldly at Oskar content to let him stew. If Oskar was in anyway put off by the way Alex was staring at him he didn't show it, at least not openly. "Well along with checking on you personally, I also brought you something as a personal favour."

With that Alex get up from his seat and disappeared behind the ledge to get something from the roof. Oskar waited a long moment before Alex came back into sight via a powerful leap and landed just in front of the younger Blacklight being.

In Alex's grasp was a woman, she was whimpering pitifully and judging from the bulge of her belly, she was very pregnant.

"Got you dinner and a side dish." Alex said as he roughly tossed the woman to the ground. "Eat up."

Just as Luna thought she was about to witness a monstrously evil act, a voice boomed throughout the dreamscape.

"EMERALD!"

With that the dream instantly collapsed and dissolved away, leaving Luna standing in her dream realm.

'_By mine sister's sun.'_ Luna thought in response to what she had just witnessed. _'What was that?'_

**DELTA**

Twilight awoke to a bright new day with a yawn and brought her hooves up to rub the sleep out of her eyes. Twilight pushed off her covers and made to get off the bed to freshen up but happened to catch sight of Emerald's bed, namely that it was still occupied.

Twilight raised her brows in surprise, Emerald normally got up _really_ early. In fact this was probably the first time Twilight ever saw her still sleeping at this hour. Emerald was usually down in the library snacking on fruits and berries during her studies.

Shrugging her shoulders Twilight got out of bed and walked over to wake her friend and roommate up.

'_Must have just wanted to sleep in for once, can't begrudge her for that.'_ Twilight thought as she approached the bed. _'She spends nearly all night studying and sometimes all her free time studying even more. I'd be willing to give the occasional day off if she aske-' _Twilight's thoughts ground to a halt as she caught sight of Emerald.

The unicorn in question was in her transfigured bed but her expression was twisted into a pained grimace, Twilight being this close could both see and hear Emerald's teeth grinding together. After a long moment the violet unicorn bolted to her sleeping friend's side in worry.

"Emerald? Emerald wake up! Emerald?!" Twilight said before reaching out with a hoof to Emerald's shoulder. "EMERALD!"

Emerald inhaled sharply and her eyes shot open widely as she was finally shaken awake. She stared ahead blankly for a moment, before finally closing her eyes and groaning as she brought a hoof up to her face. Opining them again slightly, Emerald stared questionably at Twilight with bleary eyes.

"Twilight?"

"Emerald are you okay?" Twilight asked in concern. "I saw you still sleeping and was about to wake you up but…"

"Yeah?"

"Well you had this really bad pained expression on your face." Twilight began. "And you were grinding your teeth really hard. What happened to make you like that? Why were you still sleeping?"

Emerald's expression became serious and she sat up in bed. She stared at the covers for a long moment before sighing and turning to Twilight.

"I… I get night terrors Twilight." Emerald replied reluctantly.

"Night terrors?" Twilight asked.

"Night terrors are… they're basically nightmares." Emerald explained. "Only they're ten times worse and they happen regularly… _very_ regularly."

Twilight was quiet for long moment as she digested this bit of information.

"…When you told me you only needed two hours of sleep… you were never born like that weren't you?" Twilight asked with a frown.

Emerald shook her head, staring at her covers.

"You were never born not needing much sleep… you learned to not need much sleep as a coping mechanism, right Emerald?" Twilight asked and simply took the ensuing silence as a yes. "Oh Emerald, you should have told me. I could help you; there is probably a spell somewhere in the library…"

"As much as I wish there was a magical cure for everything, to just make all the bad stuff go up in a poof of smoke…" Emerald began. "Not everything turns out okay, not everypony becomes a hero and gets their happy ending… I've learned to tolerate my condition, what else can I do?"

"I appreciate the offer Twilight, I really do." Emerald continued as she got out of bed. "I'm used to this though… long used to this. You don't need to do anything; I've got a handle on it."

"Emerald…" Twilight said sadly as she watched her friend leave the room before following after her.

'_Why is life so unfair to her?'_ Twilight thought to herself as she descended the stairs. _'It's just so sad…'_

Twilight soon arrived in the kitchen to see Emerald had taken a seat at the table; she walked over and took a seat as well. Not a moment later Spike entered the kitchen yawning loudly.

"Morning guys." Spike greeted. "I'll have breakfast started in a couple minutes."

"Thanks a lot Spike." Emerald said with a melancholy smile.

"Don't mention it Emerald." Spike replied, not noticing Emerald's expression on his way to the bathroom.

"Are you sure you're okay Emerald." Twilight asked once she took a seat. "It looked really bad…"

"I'm fine Twilight, I mean it." Emerald replied a little tiredly. "I've dealt with this for years; I think I can manage another day. So you just stop worrying, okay?"

"Okay… if you say so Emerald…" Twilight responded unhappily.

Emerald sighed and simply sat, staring at the table top in thought. The two unicorns sat in silence that neither was willing to break for several long minutes until Spike finally returned with breakfast in claw.

"Here you go guys!" Spike announced as he entered. "Another masterpiece by master che- whoa, what's with the gloomy looks?" The little dragon asked, glancing between Emerald and Twilight.

"Just… not right now Spike." Emerald said softy. "Here, let's just have breakfast."

"Uh, okay." Spike answered confusedly as he placed the plates of steamed vegetables on table with side dishes of freshly cut fruits.

The three proceeded to eat, the only sounds being chewing and the occasional clink from Spike's claws hitting a plate. Said baby dragon was also staring as subtly as he could between the two unicorns, wondering what could have possibly happened between the two this early in the morning.

Finally, as the breakfast was nearing its end Emerald spoke up.

"Twilight?"

"Yes Emerald?" The violet unicorn answered.

"I know my education is really important and all but…" Emerald began a little hesitantly. "What you mind a whole lot if I take the day off?"

"No Emerald, I don't mind." Twilight replied with a small smile. "You've been working really hard these past few weeks, spending nearly all night every night studying. I think it's fair that you take a little break every now and then."

"Thanks Twilight." Emerald said with a smile before eating her last carrot slice. "And thank you for the breakfast Spike."

"No problem Emerald." Spike replied.

As Emerald got up from the table and left for the front day she turned around.

"…And Twilight?"

"Yes Emerald?"

"I know you're concerned for my health and it is nice to know somepony is for once…" Emerald said seriously. "And… well I may not seem it right now… but I really do appreciate it and you. Some things just can't be cured though." The pink maned unicorn said before quickly heading for the door.

"What was that all about?" Spike asked when Emerald was out of ear shot.

"Well Spike… it began this morning when I woke up." Twilight began. "I was about to get ready for the day when I saw that Emerald was still in bed. So I walked over to wake her up but when I got close I…"

**EPSILON**

The fake unicorn smiled brightly as she made her way through Ponyville to the outskirts. Overall Oskar considered this morning to be fairly good. The breakfast was great and she had been able to secure a day off to fully focus on developing flight abilities, the only bad parts were when she had miscalculated Twilight's reaction to the fact she had night terrors… and the fact she had a nightmare last night.

'_I was really hoping this peaceful place would rub off on me and give me nice dreams.' _Oskar thought with a sigh. _'Guess I'm not going to get much sleep in this place too huh? It's too bad; I was all excited about maybe getting a dream about the bakery again. Hmmm… maybe I'll go see if Pinkie will like some help at Sugercube Corner? I'll check out that little possibility later, let's get to Everfree.'_

The Cadre Evolved proceeded to hide away in an alley just before the edge of town before once again heading to Everfree in wolf form. Fifteen minutes later Oskar was in a clearing deep in the depths of Everfree, back in her Emerald Gleaner form.

'_Let's see…' _The viral being pondered. _'Should I turn into Gilda or some random pegasus? Hmm… nah, let's just give Emerald some wings.'_

With that Oskar turned her head to watch as tendrils extended from her shoulders before quickly forming into a pair of pearly white wings, folded at her sides. Oskar stared at her wings a bit longer, pursing her lips in thought.

'_I don't know why but I thought something else would happen…' _ Oskar thought with a brief frown before shrugging. _'Oh well let's get to work!'_

And so Oskar did. The Cadre Evolved started simply with short glides from thick study trees, she didn't even need wings for that so having them was a definite advantage. Oskar would glide and flap her wings once or twice to simply experiment with her pegasus magic.

Gilda's memories of how Griffin magic worked were an advantage, but in the end it simply was not pegasus magic. In fact Oskar almost thought she suddenly lost her pegasus magic when she was sub-consciously feeling for Griffin magic, she quickly got a hold of it when she discovered her error after a few minutes.

Oskar's wings released little crude erratic pulses of pegasus magic whenever she flapped them, And despite their obvious feebleness they were actually having an effect on her gliding. It would take a little longer for the Evolved to lose her forward momentum and start plummeting, even longer if she started beating her wings as hard and fast as possible. Now Oskar was not anywhere near close to flight that much was certain, she could flap her wings as fast and as furiously as possible but the most she would accomplish was giving the grass a breeze. This did not dissuade Oskar, all things started small and the viral being knew it.

Standing on the ground to give her magic time to recoup, Oskar took deep breaths and bounced in place to keep the energy of the workout. After a few moments of bouncing Oskar suddenly frowned and stopped before looking down at her hoofs. Tilting her head curiously to the side Oskar bounced a couple more times, making loud thuds as her mass impacted the grass.

'_What the… am I lighter?' _Blinking in realization Oskar bounced several more times while watching her wings. _'They aren't flapping… so the wings release a passive lightening effect without active intent? Hmm… time to experiment.'_

Oskar proceeded to do a few more bounces before removing her wings in a burst of tendrils. She then started concentrating on her pegasus magic circuitry. The last few weeks of near constant practice with her magic allowed her some control over the more finicky unicorn and pegasus circuitry, not a whole lot but far better than when she first started. Concentrating deeply, Oskar carefully called upon her pegasus magic and pulled it through the unicorn circuit and into the horn.

The Cade Evolved looked up at her horn, she knew magic was going through and out it but unlike when she was using her unicorn magic, the horn was unlit. Which made sense after some thought, pagasi wings never lit up when they were in use. But this had the effect of making Oskar unsure if anything was happening.

Oskar bounced; the ensuring thuds were noticeably louder than before. The viral being frowned thoughtfully as she ended the flow of magic to her horn. She bounced again, this time the thuds were far louder. Oskar raised her brows in soft surprise before she started to do more test bounces, switching between using her wings, her horn and nothing. After a several minutes of testing Oskar nodded her head in satisfaction.

'_Okay so I can channel pegasus magic through my horn to achieve the lightening effect without the wings.' _The Cadre Evolved thought. _'BUT, doing so is not as effective as the natural method. Even so, with this discovery I can not only somewhat practice my pegasus magic in the open but eventually I may be able to lighten myself to "normal" levels. This is useful, Applejack likes to roughhouse like a "colt", those have been rather nerve racking situations, me being as heavy as I am I could easily end up crushing her… which is bad if that happened unplanned, I would end up having to make Emerald disappear. Which I would rather not happen, a disguise Emerald may be but I still have grown attached to the form, and it would be so annoying to start up somewhere else not to mention the loss of valuable training by leaving Twilight.'_

'_Hmm… anyways, back to work.' _With that thought Oskar returned to her flying practices.

This continued on for several hours, hours filled with Oskar leaping from trees and gliding down, flapping her wings in an attempt to gain any altitude. She hadn't managed any apparent progress by the time the sun was setting and she decided to head home, but all good things come in time.

'_This is going to take a bit of work but I __**will**__ fly.'_ Oskar thought decisively as she began walking. _'Okay now that my practices are done let's get to the next item of interest: Spike's dragon abilities. I want them, being able to chomp down on gems like and digesting them for nutrients? What not to want? But how to go about getting the genes?'_

'_Hmmm… I don't think he sheds scales… at least I've never soon any lying around in my time here.' _Oskar pondered. _'Could I put him to sleep with gas? No, I don't have any kind idea of what kind of metabolism he has, for all I know he would just end up getting hyper. Well he uses the facilities like everyone else… perhaps I could tap the sewage tank after he uses the washroom... yeah I'm just going to pretend I didn't just consider that. I could possibly pluck a scale from him while he sleeps at night… no too risky, lots of awkward questions if he wakes up from it.'_

'_What else, what else… well he does have that little…' _Suddenly Oskar's expression twisted into a disgusted grimace. _'No, I shouldn't! I never went that far before! But… this pretty much has a near certainty of success…'_

The Cadre Evolved thought for a long moment before finally sighing and shaking her head in disbelief.

'_The things I do for power in this place…'_ Oskar thought tiredly as she made her way home.

**ZETA**

It was now night, approaching midnight to be exact. Everyone in Twilight's library was now asleep as the moon was raised high in the night sky, casting soft silver beams of light through windows. Upstairs Twilight was happily asleep, the bed opposite hers empty and the covers made. Spike was in his little basket down on the ground floor of the library, sleeping snugly as his blanket was tucked tightly around his form. All was quiet… until a soft knock came from the door.

Spike snorted and turned over in his bed, the knocking came again and this time made the little dragon wake up.

Spike cracked open an eye before groaning as he heard the knock at the door. He pulled his blanket over his head and called out.

"Emerald… could you get that?" Spike asked knowing the unicorn would be up by now despite being half asleep.

Again the knocking came, persistent yet not loud enough to wake Twilight on the floor above.

"Emerald!" Spike called out a little louder.

Once again the knocking came and went unanswered.

Finally the baby dragon had had enough and got up from his basket. He walked over to the front door, dragging his blanket and grumbling all the while.

"Emerald?" Spike called out as he glanced into the library on his way to the door, but he find the room empty of the late studying unicorn. He wondered at that for a moment before the persistent knocking came again. "Yeah, yeah I'm coming…"

Finally arriving at the door, Spike threw it open as the knocking came again. "I'm here! Not what do yo- Rarity!"

"I apologise for the hour darling." Rarity said as she walked inside. "But I just HAD to come despite the time."

Spike stared dully for moment before quickly closing the door and dropping his blanket as he darted to the unicorn's side.

"Rarity! What's the matter, why are you here so late!" Spike said in an almost panicked voice. "Did something bad happen?! Should I go get Twilight?! I'll go get Twilight!"

Just before the little dragon could bolt up the stairs, Rarity placed her hoof on his mouth to quiet him. When he calmed down she took her hoof off his mouth and stroked the side of his face.

"Shhhh, Spike." Rarity said, gazing almost lovingly at the baby dragon. "The one I need is right where I want him."

Spike's face turned crimson and his heart started to pound as Rarity strolled into the library. Getting a hold of himself Spike quickly darted after her. He stopped in the doorway to the library when he saw Rarity standing before one of the windows, the beams of moonlight falling on her giving the unicorn a beautifully mystical look.

Rarity turned her attention away from the moon and smiled softly at Spike, she motioned for him to stand beside her in moonlight.

Gulping Spike walked over until he stood right next to Rarity, who smiled happily at him before turning her attention back to the moon.

"Is it not a beautiful night?" Rarity asked after a few moments of silence.

"It is… but it's not nearly as b-beautiful as you." Spike replied nervously.

Despite the predictability of the compliment Rarity seemed to like it, as her eyes shined with adoration and she gushed. "Oh Spike…"

Suddenly Rarity seemed to get very shy as her face flushed. After a moment the reason why became apparent as the unicorn slowly brought her face closer to Spike's. Spike's face turned cherry red and his heart beat was deafeningly loud in his ears as he did the same.

After a long moment of the two just hovering out of the other's reach, they met.

Spike considered this night to be the best one he ever had and was glad that Emerald seemed to be sleeping again. For the dragon the moment couldn't get more perfect.

Suddenly Rarity wrapped her hooves around Spike's neck and brought him close in a tight embrace. Spike felt the unicorn press her lips harder to his before he suddenly felt something long and warm enter his mouth.

Spike's eyes rolled in his head as he fainted and went limp from the French kiss he was getting from his crush. Rarity continued kissing, unaware of Spike being unconscious. Finally coming away from Spike with panting breath, Rarity blinked her eyes in stupefaction at the little dragon in her grasp.

"Of thank god!" Rarity exclaimed in relief. "He fainted!"

Suddenly in a burst of tendrils Rarity was no longer holding Spike, instead it was Oskar in her Emerald Gleaner form.

Oskar gave another thankful sigh as she magically lifted Spike into the air and began walking to where his bed was. Picking up his blanket along the way, Oskar set about placing Spike in his bed and tucking him in. Oskar hoped that when the little dragon awoke in the morning he would think this night's event would just be a pleasant dream.

'_You know…' _Oskar thought as she walked to the kitchen. _'I was expecting to feel about as dirty as the time I played a whore in that brothel. But it wasn't that bed… probably because how innocent the little guy was, and the fact that other guy very clearly wanted something __**else**__. I still feel dirty… and the taste, ugggh… he must have been snacking on gems because it feels like I have gravel in my mouth.'_

The Cadre Evolved arrived in the kitchen and began digging in the pantry.

'_But was it worth it? Using myself this way?' _Oskar thought as she brought out a ruby. _'Well…'_

Out from the sides of her hoof several bladed tendrils shot out and into the gem. Soft crunching noises filled the room as the tendrils tore into the ruby and absorbed chunks of it into them. In a few seconds the gem was completely gone, not even dust remained.

'_Yes, it was an unpleasant price to pay but yes, it was worth it.' _Oskar smiled genuinely as she exited the kitchen and walked into the library. Levitating a book from the shelves, Oskar took a seat at the circular table.

'_No rest for the wicked, let's see here… Neurology: Science of the Brain?'_ Oskar read. _'Hmmm… what did the ponies with their magic do here? Interesting…'_

**-TBC-**

AN: And that concludes chapter four after one long wait! I'll admit some parts are questionable to me, like the beginning and the dream sequence but I think it works out in the end. Anyway, chapter fifteen of Erika Gefallen is going to take precedence so expect another long wait for chapter five!


	5. Chapter 5: Unforeseen Consequences

'_Wonder what Twilight and her friends are up to?' _Oskar thought as she absently filled out some algebra in the kitchen. _'It's likely something important and dangerous considering they kicked me out of the library.'_

Sighing, Oskar proceeded to put down her math work and started messing around with a wooden block. Her transfiguration had progressed, now the Evolved could instantly change the color of the block and she was now capable of changing its shape. But Oskar had yet to advance to the point that she could make the block change into something else entirely.

Putting down a cyan wooden star, the Cadre Evolved then levitated over a bowl filled with sunflower seeds. Levitating a singular seed into her mouth, Oskar simply outright absorbed the shell in order to fully enjoy the seed.

'_It's probably some mission from Celestia, that overgrown pony means the world to Twilight.' _Oskar thought as she munched away on seeds. _'I wonder if I should get involved in those? Who knows, I might find an interesting creature to eat while everyone else isn't looking. Plus they might be pretty dangerous for her… and if Twilight dies before she can finish teaching me I'll have to put up with a sub-standard teacher… no, I'm sure Twilight can handle herself and that anything Celestia assigns to her wouldn't be __**that**__ dangerous. She's her student after all, not some super trained black ops problem solver.' _Oskar assured herself before refocusing on the algebra work.

Suddenly the door to the library opened and Twilight entered with a pair of saddlebags on her back.

"Let's see…" The violet unicorn muttered to herself. "Going to be a long trip so I'll need some food for on the way…"

Unintentionally ignoring Oskar, Twilight proceeded to the pantry and started neatly packing away fruits for whatever journey she was going on. Nodding in satisfaction Twilight turned around to finally notice Oskar at the kitchen table.

"So… going anywhere in particular?" Oskar asked as she got up from the table and approached the other unicorn.

"Just… handing a task that was given to me by the princess." Twilight replied, obviously trying to avoid telling what exactly.

"So going to do something exceedingly dangerous?" Oskar asked half-jokingly. "Maybe you're off to put out whatever's making that smoke?"

"Err…" Twilight definitely looked uncomfortable.

"You know I was pretty much joking right?" Oskar stated with a raised brow.

"OH! Hahaha, that's pretty funny!" Twilight said with an obvious forced laugh. "Well I got to go now, meeting with my friends soon and… going to… have a lot of fun and…"

"Twilight you are not fooling me." Oskar said with a deadpan stare. "I was there when you got that letter from Celestia and got all excited, and it was kind of hard not to notice something is going on when you and the girls kicked me out of the library. The walls are not as thick as you think they are too, so you might as well tell me your side of things."

"Okay, sorry Emerald…" Twilight replied sheepishly. "The letter the Princess sent me did concern the smoke. You see there is a dragon sleeping in a nearby mountain; all of this smoke is coming from his snoring. The Princess entrusted me with the task of convincing the dragon to go somewhere else to sleep, and I just got the girls to go prepare themselves for the trip."

'_A dragon?'_ Oskar thought incredulously. _'Okay so Celestia really is willing to give Twilight a dangerous assignment… for some reason.'_

"Okay, so I'm guessing from the way you went out of your way to not tell me this, you don't want me coming along." Oskar stated before asking curiously. "Why?"

"You've been through so much already Emerald." Twilight began with a frown. "You don't need to come along to help us, we'll be just fine. Just stay here and enjoy having the house to yourself while I head out and Spike housesits for Fluttershy."

"Yeah well, that's the thing Twilight." Oskar replied. "I have been through a lot; I've had to learn how to live without people looking out for me. I had to learn on the go where to get food and water, find shelter, what I need to learn and where to go to learn it without any money, who to trust and how to deal with rowdy _wildlife_. Bringing me along can an advantage, I've so much to offer with my skills and my experience. With me there we can probably handle anything that comes our way."

"And it's for exactly that reason I don't want you coming along Emerald." Twilight said with a sad smile. "You've been through too much pain to get where you are today. I just… I just don't want to potentially add on any more painful memories if I can help it. You deserve to have some peace for once Emerald, so could you just please stay here and enjoy it?"

Oskar sighed exasperatedly at this, how in the world was she supposed to justify herself against that? Shaking her head Oskar could see only one option that didn't end up alienating Twilight in some way.

"… Sure Twilight… whatever you want." Oskar said with another sigh. "I'll just stay while you and the girls just go off on some wild adventure."

"Oh thank you Emerald!" Twilight exclaimed as she gave the Evolved a hug. "You won't regret this I promise!"

"Sure just go on now." Oskar replied with a roll of her eyes. "I'm sure the girls will arrive any minute now for your little road trip."

"Alright, thanks again Emerald!" Twilight said as she left the kitchen.

Sighing again at the situation Oskar walked back to the kitchen table and retook her seat. Absently working on her math work, Oskar glanced out the kitchen window to see Twilight marching in front of her friends like a drill sergeant and talking to them.

The whole situation with Oskar being made to stay at home could easily be averted with said viral being following Twilight at a distance. After all, surely Twilight trusted "Emerald" enough to stay home and not have to get some random pony to check up on her. And with Oskar's natural shape shifting abilities, even if she was spotted by one of the girls they would just dismiss her, since she would be some random animal… though Oskar would have to watch out for Fluttershy approaching her in such a form though.

So with this in mind why didn't the Cadre Evolved just do that? Well…

'_It would be simple enough to follow them…'_ Oskar pondered as she watched a nervous Fluttershy talk to a distracted Twilight. _'But… is there really any urgency to do so? I mean no one knows anything about Blacklight here, thus no one knows anything about me. I don't really need to go through my goals like they need to be accomplished right away. Getting dragon memories would be useful in getting a handle on everything I've gained from Spike but it's not like I can't just go find a dragon when I feel I need to. So… I guess I can take Twilight's advice then.'_ Oskar smiled as she took in the sight of a reluctant Fluttershy being carried off by her friends. '_Yeah, let's take an actual break, enjoy life now that I'm finally not in danger of losing my life.'_

With that the Cadre Evolved proceeded to levitate her math work and put away the bowl full of sun flower seeds but not before grabbing a mouthful to munch on. Walking into the library, mouth full of crunching seeds, Oskar put her work away on a shelf before contemplating what exactly she could do today.

'_I've had enough of reading, that's for sure.'_ Oskar thought, giving a narrow stare at a bookcase. _'So… why not just head into town, see what's what? Yeah just relax and unwind, maybe talk with some random ponies and just plain enjoy myself… w-why do I feel so nervous?'_

Despite the peaceful intentions Oskar couldn't help but feel her skin tingle with a nervous restless energy. The Cadre Evolved had snuck into Blackwatch installations, casually pretended to be the people she ate and on one occasion managed to stealth kill an Orion, all with clear and steady mind. Yet at the mere thought of just going out to have a nice peaceful day and nonchalantly interact with people, she could feel just the beginnings of a minor panic attack.

'_C-come on now… you can do this.' _Oskar thought to herself as she stood before the front door. _'It's not like these ponies will point at you and shout "That's him!" the moment you say or do something off. In fact they'd probably be worried about you more than anything if that did happen. Yeah, just some peace loving ponies in a world without guns or any sort of advanced weaponry.'_

Taking a deep calming breath Oskar opened the door and walked out. Feeling the cool breeze on her coat Oskar couldn't help but give a small genuine smile. Due to the smoke overhead the day was not as pleasant as it could have been but it still was fairly nice, there was a chill in the air from the slight wind but it was tolerable.

'_Let's… let's save getting into character for when I need to.' _Oskar thought as she closed the door and began walking forward. _'I'll put my "mask" on when I need to but for now, I'll just be myself.'_

With a genuine though strained looking smile Oskar continued onward to enjoy her first day off in years.

**Alpha**

Time Turner swallowed nervously as he took in the sight before him. Relaxing peacefully on a park bench was a unicorn with a coat white as snow, eyes green as emeralds and hair a bright eye catching shade of pink. This unicorn's name was Emerald Gleaner and the reason why Time Turner was nervous was because he intended make an attempt to woo her.

"Go on now, just walk over and talk to her, it's easy Time." Bon Bon said from his left.

"Yeah TT, get over there!" Lyra added from his right. "There's no reason to be afraid of a pretty filly!"

"I-I don't know if this is such a great idea anymore." Time Turner replied as he tugged nervously at a recently bought bowtie. "She looks like she's happy by herself so I'll just-" Turning around and intending to leave, Time Turner was interrupted by being suddenly levitated.

"No!" Lyra interjected her horn aglow with magic. "Come on TT don't be such a scaredy cat! You haven't even tried to get a date in months! Just because you're a big nerd doesn't mean you have to be alone all the time."

"So because of my status as a bachelor I must immediately go after the most beautiful mare in town?" Time Turner questioned incredulously from his spot in the air.

"Oh I wouldn't let Rarity hear you say that Time." Bon Bon stated with a frown. "She'd likely feel insulted and hurt."

"Doesn't mean it's not true Bon Bon." Lyra said though she looked rather annoyed about it. "Unicorn comes into town out of the blue, turning the heads of all the colts in town then goes into Everfree to fake her own death-"

"Unintentionally!" Time Turner interrupted. "She unintentionally faked her own death! She did not think Twilight would try to follow her and mistake the aftermath of that chimera's bloody nose as the place of her gruesome demise."

"Ugggh!" Lyra exclaimed with a shudder, an action Bon Bon mirrored. "Why did you have to remind me of that?! It's bad enough just hearing about it, never mind imagining it!"

"Apologies but I wanted to clarify things for you." Time Turner replied.

"Hmph, anyways where was I…" Lyra said with a huff. "So the mare goes into Everfree of all places for an adventure and ends up _unintentionally_ faking her own death. She spends a whole week doing who knows what while everypony in town mourns for her and prepares a funeral for her. So she decides to pop up right when everything is already finished and paid for to surprise everypony with her survival-"

"Er, she didn't intend to-" Time Turner tried to interject again but…

"So she decides astound all the colts with a show of _brute_ strength!" Lyra continued her rant. "By which I mean smashing the tombstone I paid for! And it was a good tombstone too, polished black granite and everything, not cheap! And next thing you know she's best friends with the heroes of Equestria and capture the hearts of _all _the colts in town! And-"

"Lyra?" Bon Bon said soflty.

"…Yes Bon Bon?"

"Jealously is unbecoming of you." The other mare stated simply.

"… Sorry I just…" Lyra began with a sigh.

"It's okay." Bon Bon said kindly. "We'll talk about this later but right now we're trying to get Time into Emerald's good graces, which will hopefully lead to a spot in her heart. Besides, the poor mare deserves some happiness for once after enduring a life of hardships."

"I'm not sure if I can do this." Time Turner stated as Lyra finally placed him back down.

"Yes you can Time." Bon Bon said reassuringly and placed a hoof on the stallion's shoulder. "You only need to be yourself, friendly. Just start with polite discussion, now go over there."

With that last bit of advice Bon Bon give Time Turner a soft push. Giving a worried glance to the mare behind him the pony doctor returned his gaze forward. Taking in the slightly distant view of Emerald Gleaner relaxing on a bench, the brown coated pony took a deep breath before adjusting his tie and striding forward.

Time Turner examined Emerald as he drew closer. Though there was a bit of a chill in the air from the smoke blocking out the sun, she seemed to be completely at ease. His closing distance allowed Turner to make out the mare's expression. It was… different from what was usually on the friendly unicorn's face. She had a small yet unmistakably sad smile and her eyes seemed to just stare off into the distance, obviously lost in her own thoughts. Finally the mare in question seemed to notice Turner's presence for her eyes suddenly cleared and she stared at him. The pony doctor was frozen in spot from her expression, she was staring at him with a blank expression yet her eyes held a dark predatory look to them. Then with a total suddenness Emerald's expression changed to one of a bright eyed friendly smile.

"Why hello there Time Turner!" Emerald Gleaner greeted cheerfully. "I haven't seen you in a while! Come here, take a seat!"

Time Turner blinked for a moment before smiling very happily and accepting the mare's offer. The sure abruptness of Emerald's change in expression, managed to convince Turner that he must have imagined the look from before.

"Thank you very much Emerald, I would like that." Time Turner told the mare as he took a seat on the bench. "And it has been a while since we've talked, how have you been?"

"I'm fine Time Turner." Emerald replied. "I'm just spending some time in town while my friends are off solving the smoke problem."

"Oh? What is causing the problem exactly?" The pony doctor asked. "If it was a forest fire it would be a simple enough issue to solve with a raincloud or two."

"Turns out it's a sleeping dragon." Emerald answered sadly. "Twilight and her friends were tasked with convincing it go and find somewhere else to sleep by the Princess."

"I'm sure Twilight and the others will be fine Emerald." Turner said comfortingly when he picked up on the mare's sadness. "If Princess Celestia feels that her student and her friends can be entrusted with this task, then I can state with total confidence they will return safe and sound."

"Yeah… but it's not that that I'm upset about." Emerald replied. "Twilight did her best to try to keep what she was up from me."

"And why would that be?" Turner asked.

"She believes, rightly, that I would want to come along." The unicorn responded. "I'm adventurous I suppose… and I think that what she thought happened in Everfree has made her rather protective of me."

"That doesn't seem so wrong." Time Turner stated.

"Maybe, but Twilight needs to realise I'm not a fragile little filly." Emerald replied with a frown. "I can take care of myself and have been taking care of myself for years. Just because I've spent the last month in an actual house doesn't mean I lost all I've learned from my life. I can handle myself; I handled myself in Everfree didn't I?"

"True, you are a very independent and strong unicorn Emerald, very admirable traits." Turner stated with a nod. "I'm sure with some time and work you'll be able to convince Twilight to trust you to pull your weight in an adventure. She is a logical sort of mare, she'll not be able to deny evidence brought before her."

"Thank you Time Turner." Emerald said, smiling widely. "That makes me feel better about being left behind, because it won't happen again, I'll make sure of it."

"Not a problem Emerald." Turner replied happily. "I'm glad to be able to have been of assistance."

There was a long moment of comfortable silence before Emerald tilted her head to the side curiously.

"Time Turner you are a scientist right?" She asked the colt next to her.

"I possess a doctorate in quantum mechanics." Turner stated with a nod. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm interested in talking science with you." Emerald answered.

"Really?" Turner said eagerly before his stomach suddenly rumbled. "Uh… I appear to be hungry. Perhaps we could continue this over lunch?"

"Why not?" The unicorn said before getting off the bench. "I know this nice open air restaurant with a great sandwich and fries combo."

"Well, let us be off." Turner replied cheerfully and followed Emerald Gleaner as she lead the way. He turned his head when he noticed his two friends waving at him. Bon Bon give an encouraging smile while Lyra's expression seemed to say "Go get her tiger!" Blushing from the wordless encouragement, Time Turner nodded in thanks and continued after Emerald.

It was not long before the two were at the restaurant and were being attended by a waitress.

"So what'cha having?" The unicorn with a levitating notepad asked, ending with her bubble-gum bubble expanding till it popped.

"I'll have the deluxe sandwich and hay fries combo please." Emerald replied. "Oh and a vanilla milk shake too."

"And I will… I will have what she is having." Time Turner said when the waitress turned to him.

"Alright, it'll be ready in a couple minutes." The other unicorn said before darting off to deliver the order.

"So what do you wish to ask me about Emerald?" Turner asked.

"While I was reading I found about this device called a computer." Emerald stated. "What exactly is it? What I read only made a passing mention but what little I found out was interesting."

"Computers, now there is a fascinating invention with great future potential." Time Turner replied enthusiastically. "Now what this interesting device does is think. BUT, not at the level of even the most basic animal, no we are far, _far_ from that. Currently the average computer is fairly large bulky boxes with a glass screen on the front, and is capable of making digital documents and doing advanced math in mere moments; something that would take most other ponies would require nearly a minute to solve."

"Is all that all they capable of?" Emerald asked with a cute tilt of her head.

"N-no, like I said computers have great potential in many fields." The pony doctor replied with lightly flushed cheeks. "Already we have quite advanced robotic devices in factories, robotic devices Emerald! It is a true victory for science when science fiction becomes science fact!" Time Turner practically cheered with his declaration.

"Robots!?" Emerald gasped. "You mean we have metal ponies working in factories now? Amazing!"

"Uhhh… no." Turner answered somewhat sheepishly. "When I mean by robotic devices is that we have these large robotic limbs designed after the forelimbs of the apes of the far west, with built in computers to make it do very basic repetitive actions."

"Oh." Emerald said with audible disappointment.

"But I assure you! This is still quite advanced!" Time Turner said quickly.

"I suppose so…" Emerald said lips pursed into a thin line. Time Turner was about to say more to mollify the obviously displeased unicorn, when it became clear it was not what he said that was bothering her anymore.

"Alright you two can come out now!" Emerald called. "Come on, you can't pretend you're not there!"

After a brief moment two mares appeared from around the corner. It was Bon Bon and Lyra, both mares looked rather sheepish at being discovered.

"Sorry about spying on you two." Bon Bon said.

"Yeah, when did you notice we were here?" Lyra asked.

"After I noticed Time Turner approaching me." Emerald answered. "At first I thought nothing of it but then you two never left and started following us."

"Oh…" Now both the mares definitely looked embarrassed at being found out.

"We were just looking after our friend Time Turner." Bon Bon answered with a embarrassed flush.

Emerald raised her brows. "I didn't realise being around me was dangerous."

"What!? No that was not what I meant! Umm…" Bon Bon exclaimed then stared unsurely at the sitting unicorn who merely gave her a neutral glare.

Suddenly Emerald smiled widely. "I'm just teasing the both of you! Come one have a seat! The more the merrier!"

Both of the mares gave relived laughs and took the unicorn's offer, flashing an apologetic look at Time Turner as they did so. Said pony merely waved the looks off and shook his lightly smiling head.

"So who are you two?" Emerald asked.

"My name is Bon Bon." The earth pony replied.

"I'm Lyra." The other unicorn answered. "We know who you are."

"Speaking of which…" Bon Bon said, smiling brightly as she learned forward on the table. "There are a few things I'm just dying to ask you."

"What do you want to know?" Emerald asked with a tilt of her head.

It was as this point the waitress returned with Emerald's and Timer Turner's orders.

"Here ya go." The waitress said as she levitated the food and drinks on the table then turned to the other mares. "You two want anything?"

"Oh, a chocolate milk shake!" Lyra said.

"Strawberry for me please." Bon Bon replied pleasantly.

"Right, be back in a minute."

"You see there are these rumors I want to ask you about." The earth pony continued.

"Bon Bon you are such a gossip girl!" Lyra laughed and Time Turner only shook his head and sighed.

"Rumors?"

"Yes like for instance…" Bon Bon began excitedly. "Are you really an earth pony with a really weird skin tag on her forehead?"

"…What?" Emerald said with an incredulous stare before suddenly shaking her head with a bemused chuckle. Emerald proceeded to wordlessly answer Bon Bon's question by levitating her drink close enough to drink from the straw.

"Well that answers that one!" Bon Bon answered gleefully. "Okay next one! Are you the Wild Princess of Everfree?"

Emerald coughed up a bit of her milk shake at that one. "Wild Princess?! Okay… what?"

"Heh… heard that one form some stallion." Bon Bon giggled. "Said you had a cat like grace and the fact you just went into Everfree like it was nopony's business inspired him… I think… what did he say again?"

"Er no, I'm not some feral royalty." Emerald replied with shake of her head.

"Well it wasn't a very good rumor anyway." Bon Bon said with a shrug. "How about his one, have you ever beat up and rode a dragon?"

"Definitely not." Emerald resonded as the waitress arrived with the drinks.

"Thanks, maybe you should try when you see a dragon." Bon Bon suggested. "You seem strong enough."

"Yeah sure, I'll do just that with the next dragon I hear is in the area." Emerald said jokingly.

"Oh this is a good one, who did-"

"Ah come on Bon Bon!" Lyra exclaimed in irritation. "Stop talking about her!"

"We will definitely be talking later." Bon Bon stated seriously to chastened Lyra. "But okay, no more rumors about Emerald. This one is about an entire different unicorn. Has any of you heard about what happened to Rose Locks?"

"Who?" Lyra asked with furrowed brows, Emerald tilted her head and Time Turner shook his head.

"Well Rose Locks is this unicorn that wanted to visit Canterlot around a month ago." Bon Bon began. "I heard along the way she ran into some wild beast that tried to eat her."

"Really?" Turner stated. "Is she alright?"

"Yes and now that I think about it some accounts say she just fell asleep and had a really bad nightmare but anyways…" Bon Bon rambled before shaking her head clear. "She continued on her way to Canterlot and tried to enjoy herself when she arrived but kept getting panic attacks. When she tried to settle in for the night at a hotel she got a really horrible nightmare about what happened to her and woke up screaming. She got so bad that she was admitted into the psych ward of the Canterlot hospital for care. She's been there since."

"Wow that's… Emerald are you okay?" Lyra asked her fellow unicorn. "You look really… off."

"Y-yeah I'm just…" Emerald said, looking distinctly disturbed. "I'm just sad for that other pony is all. Well… sorry to cut this short but I really ought to be going." The unicorn stated and got up from her seat but turned towards Time Turner with a smile. "Time Turner thanks for the lunch and conversation, I really enjoyed it."

"It's no problem Emerald." Turner said after the leaving unicorn. "Perhaps we could do this again sometime?"

"Sure!" Emerald called back before disappearing around a corner.

The two mares turned to Time Turner and give him wide grins.

"Looks like somepony is getting a fillyfriend!" Lyra declared.

"I wouldn't go as far as that but she appears to be open to further outings." Turner stated with a flush.

"Tut, tut Time." Bon Bon said. "You need to be a little bit more confident if you want this to go _anywhere_."

"I try but I feel so much more at home studying the inner workings of the universe." The pony doctor stated sheepishly.

"Well just try to focus on relaxing around her and I I'm sure…" Bon Bon began as she gave Time Turner dating advice.

**BETA**

Oskar was currently making her way down a street. She had no real destination in mind and was letting her mind wander.

'_That was… informative.' _Oskar thought. The Cadre Evolved had come out to enjoy herself and relax, and it looked like that would be the case but then Time Turner appeared. At first Oskar didn't mind the colt's appearance but then she found herself unable to ignore the opportunity to question the pony about the current tech. She had also noticed two mares hiding some distance away behind a bush, but hadn't really minded them since it was still far better from the stares she was getting earlier. Time Turner's offer of lunch was appealing enough to accept but… it invoked feelings of Déjá vu in the viral being. Oskar was still contemplating if the current level of technology was of any real use when she had grown tired of ignoring the two mares shadowing them, so she called them out… in retrospect it would have been better for the Evolved's mood to just keep ignoring them. It was innocent enough and amusing to hear rumors about herself but then the conversation turned to that unicorn she ambushed so long ago.

'_I… I don't know how to feel… should I feel guilty?' _Oskar thought as she walked down a street._ 'I needed genes to create Emerald Gleaner and I could've just killed her for them but I didn't… so I shouldn't feel guilty; if I was still under Mercer's command I would have killed her to keep up appearances as just another predictable psychopath. I showed mercy… and that's a good thing.'_

'… _And I should remember that just because I show mercy doesn't mean mercy would be shown to me if I were discovered.' _As the viral being continued her thinking her nose began to twitch from a faint delicious aroma in the air. _'I'm a virus and the ultimate omnivore, fruits, vegetables, bugs, other viruses and bacteria, __**meat**__, processed foods, gems, rock, ores and if I can get around to finding some termites: wood. But these ponies, these herbivores would be completely hung up on the fact I eat meat. If I was found out, if they saw how I truly am they would see nothing but a terrifying monster, a walking anathema of blades and eternally hungry tendrils… I wouldn't blame them… what's that smell?'_

Even as deep as she was in her brooding Oskar couldn't help but be taken out of it by the wonderful mouth-watering aroma's filling her nose. Coming to a stop the Cadre Evolved took a look around her surroundings and quickly found the source of the smell. Oskar was just standing outside Sugercube Corner and from the smell of things the Cakes were just beginning another batch of baked goods.

Immediately Oskar's mind was flooded with images of a bakery, completely different from the one before her. A store front showing a sidewalk and street, always busy with traffic of people walking and driving cars. The sound of a bell ringing from the front door opening and people chatting as they waited filling the air. Freshly baked pastries and rich icing flooded the room with their scents. A face, a softly smiling woman with platinum blonde hair, her eyes twinkled with amusement and she laughed from something she just saw.

Feeling a deep warmth in her chest, Oskar strode forward without another thought and entered Sugercube corner.

"Hello and welcome to Sugercube Corner!" Mrs. Cake greeted. "Oh! Emerald how nice to see you again, would you like another of your favourites?" The swirly maned mare pointed to some donuts with vanilla icing and coconut sprinkles. "They're fresh! Just out of the oven!"

"That sounds delicious!" Oskar replied unable to keep herself from darting over in front of the displayed donuts and staring longingly. "But… as much as I want to use the allowance Twilight gave me I have a different reason for being here."

"And what would that be my dear?" Mrs. Cake asked.

"I know Pinkie is out helping Twilight with that task she was given by the Princess." Oskar stated. "And I thought I'd just come by and cover for her. I'm willing to work free of charge if that helps."

"Oh my dear I couldn't possibly accept your help without compensating you for it!" The mare exclaimed though she had a big smile on her face from the display of kindness. "But yes I and my husband would gladly accept your help. Do you know how to work in a bakery by the way?"

An image of a white apron with the name Oskar stitched in the upper left corner briefly flashed in the Evolved's mind. "Oh yes, definitely."

"Then by all means my dear go right in!" Mrs. Cake said, waving to the kitchen door. "There should be a spare apron or two on the rack just beside the door in the kitchen."

"Thank you Mrs. Cake!" Oskar said and headed for the door.

Entering the kitchen Oskar was met with the sight of Mr. Cake trying to be in four places at once and actually doing a good job of it. The baker pony had three ovens going, two lumps of dough needing to be kneaded and two bowls of icing needing to be mixed. Mr. Cake darted from one place to another kneading dough quickly then moving to finish stirring a bowl of icing and finally checking on the ovens to see if they were down. Mr. Cake spotted Oskar out of the corner of his eye when he was staring through the partially open door of one of his ovens.

"Oh hello Emerald." Mr. Cake greeted in an upbeat tone as he continued his frantic work. "What are you doing back here?"

"I offered to fill in for Pinkie today." Oskar explained as she grabbed a spare apron and tied it on magically. "Mrs. Cake agreed and here I am. So where do you need me?"

"Well if you could finish those bowls of icing for that would a huge load off my back." The stallion answered as he saw that the loads of cupcakes and muffins weren't quite finished yet.

"No problem!" Oskar replied and trotted over to the bowls in question. Picking up a whisk Oskar began beating the icing hard and quickly, but not so much that the icing would go everywhere. Glancing at the unattended bowl of icing Oskar got an idea. The fake unicorn's horn lit up with her magic as she levitated the other bowl and took hold of another whisk, then she proceeded to magically beat the icing in that bowl.

"Ha, magic can convenient huh?" Mr. Stated cheerfully as he kneaded the dough. "You look like you got a good handle on things, have you worked in a bakery before or are you just a natural baker?"

"I'd like to think both actually." Oskar answered, frowning in concentration as she divided her focus on a conversation, physically beating one bowl and magically beating the other bowl of icing.

"Oh?"

"My mother was a baker." Oskar explained, a memory of being a young boy excitedly helping his mom bake flashed through her mind. "I helped out around the kitchen and the store. I… remember those days well, I'd be standing on a chair beating a bowl of cake mix and occasionally try to stick my f-hoof in it to get a taste then my mother would immediately catch me before I'd manage it. Other times she'd let me knead and roll the dough of the pastries… I had so much fun helping her out. We did fairly well too, and I was enough of a natural that she saw expanding to a second location and letting me run it, when I was old enough, very much a possibility. But then…"

"Gee Emerald…" Mr. Cake began with a pained expression. "I didn't mean to bring up painful memories."

"No… those were good times and I enjoy reminiscing about them." Oskar replied before nodding and placing the bowls down. "And working in a bakery only improves my mood Mr. Cake. The icing is done, what's next?"

"Just in time too." Mr. Cake stated as he quickly began taking out trays full of donuts and cupcakes from the ovens. These need to have icing on them; we'll put sprinkles on some of too. While you do that I'll finish kneading this dough and get them in the oven. Those will be the jelly filled donuts and pastries, once they're done we'll fill em up with jelly."

"Sounds like a plan!" Oskar said as she levitated the icing over to the freshly baked pastries.

And so the hours passed with Oskar working the kitchen helping Mr. Cake. The Cadre Evolved enjoyed herself greatly, fond memories of times spent with her mother in the kitchen flowed freely through her mind and without the guilt she normally felt. Eventually all good things come to an end though, as was the case when five o'clock rolled around all too soon to Oskar's liking.

"You were a wonderful help dear!" Mrs. Cake complimented the false unicorn. "It tends to get a bit frantic around here without a third set of hooves helping out."

"Yeah you were a fine help around the kitchen, here you deserve these." Mr. Cake added and passed over a small bag of bits along with a box of the viral being's favorite donuts. "Come back anytime Emerald. You'll always be welcome here!"

"Thanks mister and missus cake." Oskar replied as she took the bag and box. "I'll see you two later!"

"Good bye Emerald!" The two ponies called out as Oskar left out the door.

Bag of bits and box of donuts levitating in the air above her, Oskar randomly chose a street and started moving. As the Evolved took a donut out to eat she noticed that the smoke wasn't pouring out from the mountain anymore and the pegasi were out in force clearing the skies.

'_Guess that means Twilight and her friends did it.' _Oskar thought as she munched a donut. _'What should I do now I wonder?'_

"Pinkie Pie you scared me!" A familiar voice cut into her thoughts.

Quickly finishing her donut Oskar darted in the direction of the shout and came to the sight of Twilight's friends standing in front of said pony's library. Twilight was up on her balcony and laughing along with her friends at Fluttershy, who was now frozen in a state of shock on the ground.

"Hey girls!" Oskar greeted as she entered the group. "Hope that dragon didn't give you too much trouble."

"Emerald! I was wondering where you went off to." Twilight said. "Come on in, I'll tell all about our adventure."

"Ohhhh donuts!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed and stared longingly at the levitating box holding the pastries.

"No." Oskar simply said as she walked to the library door.

"Can I have some?" Rainbow Dash asked as Pinkie pouted from the denial.

"Same answer, different pony." Oskar replied before entering the library.

"Awwwww…"

**GAMMA**

Oskar chucked a whole walnut into her mouth as she stared out the window and broke it open in one bite. Outside many ponies were busy cutting down frail tree limbs to keep them from falling and causing damage during the coming storm. Said storm was being organised by the weather pegasi, the reason for this being because of a schedule slip concerning rainfall.

'_Some things about this place I think I'll never get used to.' _Oskar thought, tossing another walnut in her mouth. _'So we missed a bit of rainfall, this means we have to have a big dangerous thunderstorm? Whose idea was that? Okay maybe it isn't that dangerous, after all the weather ponies will be controlling every boom and rain drop, right? I'm sure they can't be just putting the clouds in place and just let them go crazy right?'_

The lightning was just beginning to appear when Twilight appeared at Oskar's back and gasped aloud.

"What is it?" Oskar asked and looked back to see Twilight's worried expression.

"Look!" The violet unicorn pointed out the window, off in the distance was trying to find shelter was Applejack and Rarity. Applejack seemed to find shelter in the form of hiding under a picnic table but for some reason Rarity was standing out in the open. "Applejack and Rarity are stuck outside! The storm is going to come down hard, it might be too dangerous for them to go home in this! I better get them in here."

Oskar blinked at that. "You mean the pegasi would actually make a dangerous storm? And doesn't Rarity live just down the road from here?"

Twilight didn't hear her though as she bolted for the front door. Oskar followed after the studious unicorn shortly, arriving in time to see her call out to the two mares in the storm.

"Applejack! Rarity!" Twilight called, waving her hoof for the mares' attention. "Applejack! Rarity!"

Oskar stuck her head out the door and saw the two just staring back at them.

"Come on!" Oskar shouted. "What are you waiting for!? Get in here!"

"Right!" Rarity called back and ran for the library with Applejack not too far behind.

Rarity came charging in, glad to be out of the rain but Applejack skidded to a stop just before the door.

"Whoa nelly!" The cowpony said and arched an eyebrow questionably at the ponies inside. "Is inside a tree really the best place in a lightning storm?"

"It is if you have a magical lightning rod protecting your home like I do." Twilight answered with a smile. "Come on in!"

"We are most grateful for your invitation." Rarity said gratefully with a small head bow.

"Thank ya kindly for yer hospitality." Applejack agreed and tried to step into the house only for Rarity to stop her.

"Uh, do be a polite house guest and go wash up please, won't you?" Rarity stated motioning to Applejack's mud covered hooves before walking to stand beside Twilight and Oskar. Applejack grumbled and muttered words under her breath but did as asked and stepped back outside to clean her hooves.

"Were you asked to help trim the trees Rarity?" Oskar asked. "Was that why you were out there?"

"You are right Emerald darling." Rarity replied. "Normally only ponies on the storm brigade are supposed to be out there but the suddenness of the storm found the brigade unprepared. They were short hoofed and had to ask for volunteers. I decided my skills could be of use and volunteered as soon as I could… I did not anticipate the sure ferocity of the storm however."

"Some storm, huh? The Pegasus ponies sure have outdone themselves this time." Twilight agreed. "But I hope you and Applejack don't have any trouble getting home in this."

"It may indeed be a problem." Rarity replied worriedly.

"So fussy." Oskar stated, shaking her head. The glamorous unicorn's home was not that far away but she obviously didn't want to ruin her mane.

"This mane only looks easy to attain darling." Rarity retorted at Oskar's remark. "It takes a great amount of effort to create and sustain through a whole day's grind. I would think a mare with your mane would understand that."

"I don't fix up my mane Rarity." Oskar responded with a smirk. "It naturally gets this way."

"WHAT?!" Rarity exclaimed. "Impossible! Hair like that doesn't just happen!"

"It's true Rarity." Twilight said with a nod. "Emerald _never_ fixes up her mane, I saw her wake up once and she didn't even have bed head."

Rarity gaped at Twilight for a long moment before turning back to stare longingly at Oskar with tearing eyes. "It's not fair…"

"Life rarely is." Oskar merely responded. "So I'm guessing you're going to stay the night rather than risk your mane getting moist?"

"Oh we should have a slumber party!" Twilight said excitedly.

"Uh, what?" Rarity said, strangely alarmed.

"A slumber party, you know friends sleep over, play games, tell ghost stories." The violet unicorn said before darting over to a book shelf. "I've always wanted to have one!"

With the sound of the front door opening and closing Applejack returned from cleaning her hooves.

"Whelp my hooves are clean." Applejack stated as she came to a stop near Oskar. "What's going on?"

"Twilight wants to have a slumber party." Oskar answered as said unicorn came back with a back.

"Slumber 101, all you wanted to know about slumber parties but were afraid to ask." Twilight read briefly from the summery before turning the cover to her friends. "I've always wanted to have a slumber party, ever since I was a little filly and now is the perfect time to have one!"

"Oh uh, that's awfully tempting and all but ah… uh…" Applejack began, looking an excuse to refuse and shooting looks at Rarity. But Twilight's super eager and excited expression was not making it easy for the cowpony. "Well… actually… you know what sugercube? Sure, I'll stick around for yer slumber party…"

"Hooray slumber party!" Twilight cheered and briefly clopped her hooves together.

"Wonderful…" A clearly unenthused Rarity muttered.

"Something wrong?" Oskar asked, glancing at the unhappy looks Applejack and Rarity had.

"Er… nothing ya need ta worry about sugercube." Applejack said with a subtle look at Rarity. "It's all under control, right Rarity?"

"But of course." Rarity replied stiffly. "We wouldn't want Twilight's very first slumber party to be ruined now wouldn't we?"

"If you say so…" Oskar replied with suspicion before turning to Twilight. "So what are we doing?"

"Let's see… the book says the first thing to do in a slumber party is… to give each other makeovers!" Twilight squealed in excitement.

"Sounds fun." Oskar stated with a smile at Twilight's enthusiasm. "You know I personally have never had a makeover, or a slumber party for that matter."

"Then you'll be in for a treat Emerald!" Twilight replied happily before darting for a cupboard. There was the sound of glass clinking and things being moved about before Twilight turned around, four bowls and two green bottles floating behind her. "I've got all the materials for the mud masks right here."

"Mud masks?!" Applejack exclaimed. "What in tarnation, ah had to go outside an clean mud off my hooves an now ya want to put mud on my face?"

"Of course this isn't that filth you would have dragged all over Twilight's floors!" Rarity replied affronted. Twilight brought over four pillows for everyone to sit on and placed a bowl down before each one, filling each bowl with a light green crème.

"This is a _mud mask_." Rarity explained as she lied down on a pillow. "It's to refresh and rejuvenate your complexion."

"Really?" Oskar asked dubiously, dipping her hoof into a bowl and bringing it to look at the crème. Oskar knew all about products like these of course. The memories of several women providing all she needed to know about them. But the dubious point came when Rarity stated what the crème was for; ponies had a coat of short hair that covered their entire body and thus kept skin out of sight for the most part. Humans had a coat of hair too, but the hairs were so sparse and fine as to be a non-issue. The Evolved was more than a little curious about the effectiveness of the crème when there was a coat of hair between it and the skin it was supposed to be absorbed into. "Well consider me sceptic."

"Pshaw Emerald, you'll see, by tomorrow morning you'll find that the results speak for themselves." Rarity replied as she quickly and expertly applied a layer of crème over her face and helped Twilight when she seemed to be having trouble.

"Hmmm…" Oskar looked down at the crème on her hoof. Like what was stated before, Oskar knew about this stuff and how to apply it… as a human that is. With an equine face and hooves for appendages Oskar was at some loss of how to put it on without making a mess. Tentatively she placed her hoof on her face and started to spread it around.

"Oh, Emerald darling here let me do it." Rarity said after basically chucking a ball of crème in Applejack's face and smearing it around haphazardly. "You've acquired quite a few skills from being a travel pony but applying health care products seems to be not one of them."

"Well excuse me for not seeing a point in it before." Oskar replied in false irritation. "I mean it not like I had better things to spend what few bits I could get my hooves on."

"Now Emerald, there is no need to be like that." Rarity stated with pursed lips as she sat in front of the fake unicorn. "I'm well aware of your feelings on my taste for "useless frilliness". But just sit back and relax, let me handle this."

"Alright Rarity, might as well give this a try for Twilight's sake than anything else." Oskar muttered loud enough for Rarity to hear.

"My thoughts exactly." Rarity replied with a smile before setting to work.

Oskar closed one eye as Rarity with meticulous care began spreading an even layer of crème over one side of her face. It stuck Oskar as odd that Rarity was taking such painstaking efforts in applying the mud mask to her, the glamorous unicorn did not do so with Twilight who she was obviously closer to. Yet here the mare was, being so very attentive in making sure she was doing a good job for a pony she shouldn't like. Though very curious for the reason Oskar couldn't help but enjoy the calming atmosphere of the room, of lying here and being attended too.

'_So this is what being a girl is like?' _Oskar thought as Rarity started applying crème to the other side of her face. _'It's not bad, kind of pleasant really. There's seeing and there's experiencing, I mean I know there are unpleasant consequences of being female, what with the sexualising, the leering and the occasional rapist who thought I was easy prey. But there is none of that here… well there was that one incident in Canterlot but that was hardly his fau-'_

"Emerald I'm done." Rarity's voice broke into Oskar's thoughts. "You can open your eyes now."

"Oh… uh, thanks Rarity." Oskar said a little unsurely.

"It's no problem Emerald." Rarity smiled warmly.

'_Does… does she like me?' _Oskar thought as said unicorn turned around to face Twilight. _'Strange… I thought she was the type to go for the "gallant stallion" not another mare… ugh, how am I going to handle this?'_

"So what's next in that book of yours?" Applejack asked Twilight.

"We're not done with our makeovers Applejack." The studious unicorn replied and made their mud masks disappear in a flash of magic. "We still need to do our manes!"

"Seriously?" Applejack asked unhappily and got her answer when Twilight levitated some hair curlers and brushes into the air in front of her.

"Come now Applejack." Rarity rebuked smugly as she magically took a hold of the curlers from Twilight. "And who knows, it may just help that crow's nest you have!"

Applejack growled but didn't resist as Rarity set to work once again, quickly and efficiently brushing long locks of hair to place in a curler. While Rarity was busy with Twilight, Applejack and herself Oskar was trying to fix herself up.

'_This is so much harder without hands.' _The fake unicorn frowned as she struggled to magically manipulate the curlers, the brush and her hair. _'And these hooves are so confusing, one moment they're just as good as hands, the next I'm forced to use my mouth or magic to get things done.'_

"Oh my. Emerald darling just wait a moment." Rarity said as she caught sight of Oskar making a mess of herself. "I just need to finish Appljack's tail and I'll be right there."

"Yowch!" Applejack shouted as Rarity pulled a lock into a curler in an ungentle manner.

"Apologies Applejack." The glamorous unicorn quickly muttered as she quickly finished up and moved to Emerald.

"Now let's what I can do with this perfect mane of yours." Rarity stated with a smile and sat down just behind Oskar.

The Evolved felt the bristles of the brush move through her mane softly and slowly, the intent being to undue any knots but the sure gentleness of the action struck Oskar.

"My, my, not one knot or tangle." Rarity's voice came softly near her ear. "And your natural curls just spring right back into shape. What I wouldn't do for hair this silky and strong."

'_Ah crap!'_ The Evolved thought as Rarity started to place in curlers. _'She __**does**__ like me! How do I handle this? She's someone I have to deal with pretty much every other day so simply doing what I did to Razor Wing isn't an option, not unless I want to make things awkward around here. What to do what to do… I got nothing. Great so I just sit back and let her date me? Just hope she decides we ar-'_

"Emerald?" Rarity's voice broke into the virus' thoughts.

"Er, yes Rarity?" Oskar said, discomfort managing to bleed into her voice.

"I know we don't exactly get along, even now you're so tense from being near me." Rarity said sadly. "And I understand why you dislike me, after a lifetime of only living on the bear minimum and coming face to face with a pony such as I… well long story short Emerald I'd rather we be friends, dear friends."

"Oh?" Oskar stated relief at being wrong making her relax. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"I can get along with any pony with a little effort darling but you…" Rarity began with a hopeful. "You I _want_ to be friends with, no matter the difficulty. I just… I have a hard time explaining it Emerald but I feel this connection with you."

"A connection?" Oskar questioned, turning her head to face Rarity as said pony affixed the last curler in her mane.

"Yes I know it sounds odd." Rarity replied with a nod. "But I do feel this need to be close to you, to help you. The closest I can compare this feeling is what I feel towards my sister but… somehow this feels deeper."

"O-oh." Oskar did her best to hide her shock. Somehow Rarity was able to feel on a sun-conscious level that Emerald was related to her. And it was true too as technically her current form was Rarity's daughter, if said pony had somehow had a child with another mare and that child completely won the genetic lottery.

Taking advantage of the awkwardness she currently felt, Oskar spoke. "Y-you know what? Maybe all that frilliness you like isn't so bad… maybe I should just lighten up a bit. I mean after all, I don't have to rely on the land to survive anymore and I have my own bits now…"

"Does this mean…" Rarity began with a hopeful voice.

"Yeah, let's be friends Rarity." Oskar replied with a small smile. "And not just pretend to be for Twilight's shake."

"Yes!" The unicorn cheered and pulled Oskar into a tight hug. "I can't believe how happy this makes me feel! I'm glad we were able to move past this pettiness between us Emerald, so very glad."

At this Oskar couldn't help but feel her heart lightening and the smiling mask she wore become less and less false. The Evolved, member of Alex Mercer's cruel, brutal and misanthropic Cadre of Blacklight beings, leaned into Rarity's embrace.

"Yay!" Twilight cheered, once again clopping her hooves in excitement. "My slumber party is turning out to be a total success! What do you think Applejack?"

"Err… ah think it's just fine Sugercube… just fine…" The cowpony sat staring at the sight before her, of two mares once only friends in the barest sense. Now willing to put aside what issues they had to deepen their relationship into an actual friendship. Like the one Rarity had with Twilight… and the one "Emerald" had with Applejack. Frowning for a long moment Applejack suddenly looked determined and started walking forward. "Scuse me Twilight, something mighty important ah have ta do."

"Oh sure thing." Twilight responded and watched curiously as Applejack approached the two hugging mares.

"…Rarity?"

Cracking open one eye the glamorous unicorn scrutinized Applejack standing in front of her and Oskar, who she was still embracing.

"Oh well… I suppose all good things must come to an end." Rarity stated with a sigh and released Oskar. "Yes Applejack? How may I help you?"

"Look… ah know we're having a disagreement an all but…" The cowpony began with some effort. "Seeing you an Emerald getting along so well despite yer differences, it got me thinking you see… you focusing on the little details ain't so bad. But sometimes sugercube you gotta focus on the big picture instead of the little ones and… well, guess what ah'm trying to say is ah'm sorry Rarity."

"Oh really… is that so?" Rarity asked dismissively when she felt a nudge.

She looked towards Oskar and saw her give a meaningful look.

"_Generosity _isn't picky." The false unicorn stated with a pointed stare.

Rarity winced at that and nodded in agreement after a moment.

"… I'm sorry too Applejack… I suppose my placing the branches back on the trees was counterproductive when I think about it." Rarity admitted.

"Partners again?" The cowpony asked and stepped closer.

"Indeed." Rarity answered and hugged the other mare.

"Awwwww, this is fantastic!" Twilight smiled and levitated her slumber party book over. "Makeovers check."

With that the curlers in all the mares' manes disappeared in a flash.

"So what's next?" Oskar asked.

"Ghost stories!" Twilight replied excitedly. "Who wants to go first?"

"Me!" Applejack shouted then paused, with a glance at Rarity Applejack then said sheepishly. "Actually maybe somepony else ought to go first."

Oskar tapped her lip for a moment and smiled widely. She couldn't really recall any good stories at the moment but didn't mean she couldn't create one.

"I have one." Oskar said, hoof raised into the air. With a magical flair of her horn she turned out all the lights. "Have any of you three heard of the Dread Queen Bloody Mary?"

"C-can't say that I have sugercube." Applejack replied immediately put off by the name.

"Who was she?" Twilight asked curiously but also nervous.

"Mary the I was a vain Queen." Oskar began, making up a composite character on the fly based on histories and legends she knew. "But nopony knew just how vain… until one terrible day."

"W-what happened?" Rarity asked being her hoof up to her mouth.

"You see, one of the noble fillies attending the Queen's court said that not only was she prettier than the Queen, but that the peasent girls in her town were prettier too." Oskar said, relishing the other mares' expressions while her own was shadowed from a candle below. "The Queen happened to have just been around the corner at the time and did not take what heard well, at all."

"So, waiting until the girl and her family returned to their estate," Oskar continued. "Bloody Mary gathered up her Royal Guard and took them to the town the girl's family ruled. She had a contingent sent to the girl's estate and ordered the rest to gather up all the pretty mares in town. By morning it was done all the mares, including the noble girl was in the town square. Next she had each mare tied to a stake with a pile of wood laid at their base… do you know what she did next?"

"W-what?" Applejack asked in apprehension.

"She had each stake set aflame…" Oskar said staring into each of the mares' wide eyes. "With the mares still tied to them."

Horrified gasps came from the two unicorns and one earth pony, inciting Oskar to think. _'Too easy.'_

"But that was just the beginning of Queen Mary's terrible reign…" Oskar said dramatically. "After that day a dark madness, fueled by Mary's vanity, took hold. The newly christened Bloody Mary began hiring pretty mares to work as her palace maids. For a time all was well for the girls employed by the Queen but soon they began to notice something…"

"W-w-what?" Rarity asked pulling herself closer to Applejack.

"They noticed that maids were going missing." Oskar answered. "You see it turns out the vain Queen Mary decided she wanted to remain youthful forever, so in order to accomplish this she decided the best way was to… bathe in the spilled blood of beautiful mares!"

The Lightning storm outside choose this particular moment to boom loudly, lighting the room up briefly in a flash and causing the three other mares to scream.

"After that discovery the remaining maids turned tail and ran from the palace but that still isn't the end of Bloody Mary's legacy." Oskar said theatrically inwardly thankful for the timely lightning strike. She was going to continue when she saw the scene in front of her. "Uhh… you girls alright?"

Twilight, Rarity and Applejack were huddled together, holding each other tightly and staring with wide scared eyes at Oskar. Their coats had also turned a lighter shade… somehow.

"Y-you know I-I think ghost stories c-can be checked off the list." Twilight simply stated.

"But I never got to tell you about the forest of pikes." Oskar protested. "Or got to the part that made this story a ghost story."

"Nope! I'm checking it off!" "Twilight insisted and brought up the book, marking in it with her quill. "See? Check."

"Fine." Oskar huffed. "You bunch of sissies."

"S-so what's next Twilight?" Applejack asked as said unicorn turned the lights back on.

"Something nice and calming." The studious unicorn replied. "Truth or dare, who wants to go first?"

"I do." Rarity replied and turned to Applejack. "Truth, Applejack have you ever tried to be fancy?"

"Uhh, yeah once." The cowpony answered. "Ah was a naïve little filly who didn't know any better. Decided farm life wasn't for me and went to live with some cousins who became city folk in Manehatten. Grew to be miserable over there, it was only until I saw this rainbow over my home that I decided to head back home."

"Oh I did not know that darling." Rarity replied.

"Yeah it ain't all that important ta talk about." Applejack said. "My turn, let's see here… okay so truth, Rarity have ya ever purposefully gotten yerself dirty?"

"Well… I don't know if this counts as purposefully but…" Rarity began. "There was this one time when I was a little filly. You see my horn was acting up and it was dragging me _everywhere_. My coat was ever so dusty when it was over and done with."

"Huh." Applejack hummed.

"Okay it's my turn!" Twilight said excitedly and turned to Oskar. "So Emerald I… dare you to… change the color of my coat and mane."

"Are you sure?" Oskar asked dubiously. "I'm not exactly a master at magic."

"It's the rules Emerald; you have to do what you're dared to do." Twilight replied cheerfully. "Besides, if nothing else I'm absolutely certain you got the color change part of transfiguration down."

"All right… here goes." Oskar stated as a light pink aura surrounded her horn.

Twilight's form glowed briefly, the light reaching near blinding and suddenly it was over. The unicorn stood in front them unharmed but cosmetically changed. Her coat was now a light pink, her mane and tail was white, the streak however was a dark purple. The only thing unchanged was her eyes and cutie mark.

"Hmmm… I look like my mother." Twilight remarked upon levitating a mirror over. "Though the shade of her streaks isn't this dark, and her coat is white and… I think you forgot to change my eyes."

"Yes I did." Oskar admitted with a nod. "At least I didn't accidently switch around your mane and tail… again."

"Say what now?" Applejack said, looking between Twilight and Oskar.

"Oh nothing!" Twilight replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "It's your turn now Emerald."

"Right, how about…" Oskar said as she pondered what to dare or ask Twilight. "I dare you to stand on your front hooves for two seconds."

"A hoof stand!" Twilight exclaimed in a little alarm. "I… well the rules are the rules but I never was all that good at PE. Horsefeathers…"

Reluctance clear to all who saw it, Twilight briefly hopped in place in an attempt to limber up. Trying to give her front hooves a good strong footing Twilight proceeded to push off the ground with her back legs. For a brief moment Twilight was upside down and she thought she had managed it, only for her momentum to continue forward.

"Wah! Oomph!" Twilight shouted before falling to the floor, the surprisingly soft floor. Opening her eyes Twilight saw that she was in Oskar's forelegs, said false pony was giving a crooked smile down at her.

"All brains and no brawn eh Twilight?" The Cadre Evolved remarked.

"Possessing both in large quantities is your forte Emerald." Twilight replied with a smile before getting back onto her hooves.

"True." Oskar said with nod. The Evolved turned towards Rarity as it was now her turn again when she heard Twilight call out.

"Play truth or dare, check!" The violet unicorn marked in her book.

Oskar blinked at that and turned towards the other mares who only shrugged at her look.

"Okay since the game is over what's next Twilight?" Oskar asked.

"It's confusing me… this says pillow fight." Twilight answered with a troubled frown. "…I wonder what this- ahhh!"

The unicorn was interrupted by the sudden impact of a pillow tot the back of her head. She turned around to see Oskar smiling widely at her with several pillows levitating above her. Applejack was quickly getting into the spirit of things as she wrangled a pillow with her lasso and was grinning pointedly at Rarity.

"Oh I will not be a participant in something so crude." Rarity stated haughtily only for Applejack's lassoed pillow to smack square in the face. "I said I will not- argh!"

"Don't be such a wet blanket Rarity." Oskar said after telekinetically chucking a pillow in the unicorn's face.

"Oh it is on!" Rarity stated dangerously after spitting out a few feathers.

"Oh!" Twilight exclaimed in realization as she watched her friends go at it like blood thirsty Vikings… with pillows. "_Pillow fight_. Fun!" The unicorn said with a brief clop of her hooves.

The sound of hooves clopping together attracted the attention of the three battling mares, they proceeded to spare enough time attacking each other to toss one pillow at the distracted studious unicorn.

"Ahhh!" Twilight briefly exclaimed as she was stuck with three pillows.

"Either return fire or sit this out!" Oskar shouted as she dodged a head shot from Applejack only to get pinned behind a table by Rarity's opportunistic barrage. "One or the other Twilight!"

Twilight immediately got up from under the pillows and giggled excitedly, her horn lit with magic. A nearby drawer started shaking violently before flying open. Dozens of pieces of parchment flew out of the drawer and hovered in the air for a brief moment, and then in a blinding flash suddenly the parchment was replaced by dozens of levitating pillows.

"Oh my!"

"Didn't see that coming."

"Oh boy…"

"Ha!" Twilight shouted as she unleashed her wall of feathery comfy death. In an instant the other three mares were completely overwhelmed in a solid wave of pillows.

"Oh did I win?" Twilight asked excitedly as she took in the three piles of pillows where her friends used to be.

Suddenly the pillow pile Oskar was under burst apart.

"Conflict escalation!" Oskar bellowed as the pillows she was buried under gathered above her.

Quickly gathering up the pillows she still had Twilight formed a makeshift barrier with them, blocking Oskar's punishing stream of pillows flying at her position. Ducking behind an overturned table Rarity transfigured a spare pillow into a mirror, which she used to bombard the other two unicorns from safety.

Applejack being the sole non unicorn of the four decided discretion was the better part of valour and began edging along the side of the room to flank Rarity.

Rarity was completely focused on lobbing pillows at the other two unicorns, her gaze locked on the mirror when Applejack ambushed her.

"Huh?" Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye Rarity turned to look and saw Applejack charging at her, pillow in hoof.

"Ahhhhh!" Rarity screamed out as a blow from the pillow the cowpony wielded sent her flying over her cover and into a pile of discarded pillows.

And so the fight continued, Oskar and Twilight were locked in heated battle, both unicorns sending either withering streams of pillows or overwhelming waves of them at each other. Applejack continued on sneaking about the warzone that was Twilight's library, backstabbing any of the unicorns when she had the opportunity. Rarity continued her tactic from before, hiding behind cover and blindsiding anyone she targeted with her precision strikes, though she did take pains to watch out for Applejack this time.

Eventually the Pillow War of Twilight's Library came to a close… with Rarity as the victor.

All around the library was large piles of torn pillow cases and feathers, books lied at the bases of their shelves, the casualties of collateral damage. In the very center of this battlefield was four tired mares. Three of them were in a pile and the last one was standing before them with a victorious expression.

"Ha, victory belongs to me." Rarity gloated at the pile of her friends.

'_How the hell did this happen?'_ Oskar thought from the bottom of the pile, a bemused grin on her face.

"Hoo! Gosh Rarity you sure know how to tussle!" Applejack said with toothy smile.

"Yes, I should have warned you darlings." Rarity preened, giving a toss her mane. "A lady should know how to defend herself when needs must and I… I am most definitely a lady."

"No kidding!" Twilight panted from atop the pile. "Why don't we call it a night girls? I'm exhausted!"

"Ain't gonna hear any complaints here!" Applejack replied before looking down at Oskar under her. "Emerald?"

"Tucking in for the night sounds good." The Cadre Evolved responded and shrugged off the two mares atop of her.

"Yes I heartily agree." Rarity said as she brought a hoof to her forehead. "Oh my! I believe the adrenalin is wearing off."

Having agreed that it was time to call it a night, the four mares proceeded to head up the stairs to Twilight's master bedroom.

"Oh when did you prepare beds for us Twilight?" Rarity asked upon catching sight of the bed opposite Twilight's.

"Oh that's Emerald's bed." The violet unicorn answered as she slid under the covers.

"Ah thought that bed in the library was Emerald's." Applejack said.

"Nope, that's Twilight's spare bed." Oskar responded from beside the cowpony. "For just in case she ends up reading really late, as she tends to do."

"Oh… dibs on this one!" Applejack shouted and leapt for Oskar's bed.

"Applejack be a dear and got off the bed for a moment." Rarity asked the bouncing cowpony as she approached. "I want to at _least_ get my side the way I want."

"Meh, sure thing sugercube." The cowpony responded and leapt back off the bed.

Oskar seeing that the two mares claimed her bed walked over to Twilight's bed and slid under the cover next to the other unicorn.

"So what did you think of your first ever slumber party?" Oskar asked the color changed unicorn.

"It went fantastically!" Twilight smiled at the Evolved lying next to her. "I'd always hoped that my first slumber party would go this smoothly and I couldn't ask for a better result. The makeovers, you being better friends with Rarity, er… your ghost story… the game of truth or dare and that pillow fight! This was the best ever! Thank you Emerald, thank you all of you!"

"T'aint a problem Twilight." Applejack replied as she got back under the covers.

"Most definitely." Rarity agreed from her snug position in the bed.

"Yeah it was a good night all around." Oskar said with a nod. "Well it's about time we went to sleep. Night Applejack, Rarity, Twilight."

"G'night y'all."

"Yes, sleep tight."

"Thanks again girls for a wonderful night."

With that everyone settled into their beds and went to sleep. And once again Oskar was wide awake, only pretending to go asleep until she was absolutely sure everyone else was sleeping so she could get up.

It was about half an hour later when Oskar decided with certainty that everyone was asleep and made to climb out of bed when a leg wrapped around her chest. Oskar looked to her right and saw that Twilight had snuggled in close in her sleep, her foreleg reaching out to pull the source of warmth that was Oskar even closer.

'_Ah hell.'_ Oskar thought with a frown. _'This is going to be one __**long**__ night.'_

With that Oskar settled in, fully submitting to the fact she'd be here for the next eight or so hours. The Evolved proceeded to listen to the sound of the lightning storm outside and counting the number of strikes, making note of a particular strike that sounded very much like a building breaking.

The Evolved would not know just yet but she and the other mares in the room would be spending the next morning helping a neighboring family patch up their roof.

**EPSILON**

"Come on this is stupid!" Oskar objected. "Just let me go out there and I'll-"

"No way no how Emmy!" Pinkie shouted blocking the front door. "Remember!? She's an evil enchantress!?"

"Yes I remember. You only sang that song like five times already." Oskar deadpanned.

"If you go out there and see yourself you'll agree with me!" Pinkie shouted.

"Go _out_ there?" Oskar asked dubiously. "You keep saying that word but you refuse to let me actually go out there."

Pinkie Pie took a deep breath, about to begin another bout of singing.

"NO darn it!" Oskar interrupted and quickly looked out the window when she saw a glance of purple. "Oh good, Twilight's back with Spike."

Walking over to the window Oskar slammed open the shutters, to the great displeasure of everyone else in the room.

"Twilight get over here and talk some sense into this lot!" Oskar shouted to the violet unicorn. "Even Rarity turned into a paranoid yokel!"

"What?!" Came Twilight's confused reply.

"Hey!" An insulted Rarity complained.

"Get out of the way, Twilight's coming in." Oskar said irritably to Pinkie.

"Gee you try to keep a friend from getting turned into a frog and this is the thanks you get?" Pinkie muttered as she did as she was told.

"Umm, there's nothing wrong with being a frog you know." Fluttershy said softly.

The front door opened and in walked Twilight with Spike sitting on her back. Lighting up her horn Twilight gave a bemused look around the room.

"What's going on?" She asked. "Why is everypony hiding in the dark?"

"Apple Bloom over there got startled by a mare wearing a cloak." Oskar said, pointing to the little filly. "So Pinkie went over and had a look herself and starting terrifying the whole town into hiding with shouting about "evil enchantresses", oh the others here decided to be helpful by flipping out too."

"Really? A mare wearing a cloak?" Twilight asked her friends dubiously. "Somepony having an odd fashion sense is enough to set you all off?"

"Now hold jus' one minute." Applejack half shouted. "Ah know it sounds bad the way Emerald tells it but ya weren't there, ya should've seen the terror on Apple Bloom's face when she saw that pony."

"Ah wasn't terrified!" Apple Bloom denied though it was ruined by her scared shaking. "Really! Ah wasn't!"

"She's an evil enchantress Twilight!" Pinkie exclaimed. "She has evil eyes, an evil cloak, evil stripes and an evil wagon full of evil cursed artifacts!"

"_She's an evil enchantress._" Pinkie continued in song. "_She does evil dances. And if you- _mph!"

"I said no." Oskar stated firmly, hoof in the pink pony's mouth.

"Oooookay… what was that about a wagon?" The violet unicorn asked.

"That mare, uhhh… Zecora right?" Oskar asked Apple Bloom and got a nod. "Well Zecora is now sitting outside the townhall with a wagon full of _evil mystical artifacts_… apparently. I don't know beyond word of mouth, I would have gone to see for myself but Pinkie won't let me out."

"Does anypony have a _clear _idea of what Zecora want's." Twilight questioned, looking around the room. "Any idea at all… other than being an evil enchantress." The unicorn quickly added when Pinkie raised her hoof excitedly.

"Er… well all she's done is sit in front of the town hall with that wagon…" Rainbow Dash began. "Uh… not a clue."

"Ignorance and superstition." Oskar stated aloud with pointed looks at Pinkie and Applejack. "They're like twin idiots running rampant throughout the land."

"Hey!" The mares shouted.

"That's… rather profound Emerald." Twilight replied. "HURTFUL, but profound."

"It's a quote, I didn't think it up." Oskar responded with a shrug. "Now that you're here maybe we can finally just go see what Zecora wants."

"Yes of course." Twilight answered with a nod and added upon looking at everyone else. "Maybe if somepony was brave enough to go see her, this whole mess would have been settled a while ago."

"Well ah'm brave enough." Apple Bloom stated determinedly and walked out the door. "Ah'm heading out!"

"Apple Bloom ya fool little filly!" Applejack shouted in worry. "Ya stay here now! Ya hear?!"

"Oh just leave her alone Applejack." Oskar said as she walked out the door after the little filly. "There's nine of us and only one of Zecora. Twilight's a magical prodigy, you're a tough cowpony, I'm a former travel pony who could beat Chimeras into submission, Pinkie has a cannon she can fill with grapeshot if she needed to, Dash is an expert flier, I'd rather think we can handle one _spooky_ looking mare."

"Grapeshot?" Pinkie asked in confusion. "Why would I fill my party cannon with grapes?"

"Right… right o' course!" Applejack said with rising confidence. "There's only one of her an a bunch of us! If she does any hocus pocus Twi can handle it."

"That's the spirit." Oskar replied with a smile.

'_About damn time.'_ The Evolved thought in annoyance. _'This is the same group that stood up to Nightmare Moon? Peh, without Twilight they're not very effective. Better keep that in mind for the future.'_

"Right let's get going and see what Zecora wants." Oskar stated and went out the door, the rest of the mares close behind.

The eight ponies plus one dragon started down the road to the town hall; all the way they were stared at by ponies hiding in their homes.

"Gee Pinkie…" Oskar began as she took in the scared townsfolk. "You sure know how to render an entire town helpless in fear. You sure your talent is making others laugh?"

"Okay Emmy I get it…" Pinkie said as she stared at the ground with tearing eyes. "… I just wanted to make sure everypony was safe…"

Immediately Twilight shot Oskar a sharp reproving look and gestured to the pink pony with her head. Looking between The violet unicorn and Pinkie Pie Oskar frowned openly before sighing. Slowing her pace till she was beside the party pony Oskar gave said pony a slight nudge to get her attention.

"Look, I'm sorry Pinkie." Oskar said, strangely the Cadre Evolved felt like she actually meant it. "I guess I just didn't like the thought of somepony from out of town being shunned for not looking normal. I mean look at me, I'm from out of town and I've never had an easy life, by all rights I should be a scarred mess. If I was, would you and everypony else reject me for looking like that? From what I've seen today that answer seems to be yes… but I'm sorry Pinkie, I guess seeing this set me off is all and-" Oskar was suddenly interrupted by Pinkie Pie giving her a tight hug.

"You silly filly…" Pinkie began. Oskar looked over the mare's shoulder and saw that the others had stopped and were looking at her gloomily. "I understand now, you don't need to say anything else. Now… let's go give Zecora a big Ponyville welcome!" The pink finished with a cheer.

"Yes… let's." Oskar replied with a smile.

Before long the group of nine arrived in the town square and saw the mystery mare Zecora and her cart. The cart was large with high walls and had a green tarp over its contents. The mare that pulled it into town wore a brown hooded cloak and was white with dark gray stripes.

"Stripes?" Rarity gasped. "How garish!"

"Hmm… is she a Zebra Twilight?" Oskar asked.

"Definitely." The unicorn answered with a nod.

"Right I'll go be me." Pinkie Pie stated and walked forward.

The group finally caught Zecora's attention and the zebra turned to look at them. Pinkie Pie was frozen in place from the glowing yellow eyes emitting from within Zecora's hood.

"Nice trick." Oskar commented. "I can do something like that too, mind pulling down your hood?"

Zecora complied immediately and revealed… a friendly smiling face, her bright blue eyes and her Mohawk.

"Greetings you pony folk!" She said with a pearly white smile. "My name be Zecora, in this town I wish to live, if suspicious of me Celestia's name I shall invoke."

"Oh..." Oskar blinked at the Zebra's fashion of speech before shaking her head clear. "See? What did I tell all of you? Just a normal mare who happens to want to settle here."

"Indeed, while normally the wilds of the near forest of Everfree be where I would settle." Zecora began "A brief look tells me that if chosen so, it shall be a sure test of my mettle."

Oskar stiffened visibly at that. Though she knew not wanting to live in Everfree was a sensible choice because the place was rather dangerous. Her instinct formed out of surviving amongst the most brutal of the Evolved nagged at her, telling her that the danger of Everfree was not the real reason why the zebra was not going to live there.

"Seems like a sensible choice." Oskar said with a nod. "But… it sounds like there is a deeper reason why you don't want to live there."

"Yes indeed, for you see, in the forest of Everfree now dwells an unnatural creature." Zecora stated. "Unnatural for hunting and leaving whole remains nigh untouched be its primary feature."

"Pff, sounds about as _normal_ as those animals in Everfree get if you ask me." Rainbow Dash scoffed but stopped when she heard Twilight gasp. "What's the matter Twilight?"

"There is a "natural" cycle to Everfree, believe it or not." Twilight began with a troubled look. "The herbivores eat the plants, the carnivores eat the herbivores and when they expire or excrete fecal matter both of them feed the plants. But carnivores will _only_ hunt what they need to survive, nothing more. Whatever this thing is, it's unnatural even by Everfree's standards."

Now even Dash looked shocked as the mares shared scared looks with each other. Oskar though was frowning openly as she took in what she saw and heard.

"Sugercube you can talk with them Everfree critters." Applejack said to Fluttershy. "They ever mention anything about some crazy monster?"

"Well… yes they have… and they've been telling me for a while now." Fluttershy admitted ashamedly.

"Then why haven't you told us Fluttershy?" Twilight asked.

"Because you would have been so very worried and worked up about it." The demure pegasus lowered her head with a contrite look. "Oh but it was dumb of me to keep it to myself! I know that now… I'm so sorry!"

"There, there sugercube." Applejack said comfortingly, pulling the pegasus into a hug. "Jus' tell what you know."

"Okay…" Fluttershy said with a nod. "There was a massacre in Everfree about a month ago."

"OH MY!" Rarity's exclamation was just one of many.

"Y-yes… it was so h-horrible when I heard about…" Fluttershy sniffled and tried to hold back tears at the memory. "From what I've pieced together from the stories it was like this, it began with a ferret named Malik investigating the sound of Chimera's fighting something. By the time Malik arrived it was already over, the entire pride of Chimeras was dead and looked like they were… beaten to d-death with small spiked boulders. Then later a doe named Mary went out to collect some of her son's favorite flowers for him to eat, she came back to find her entire herd k-killed, all of them had been… impaled through the head with… with _something_. A Raven named Iron Beak discovered an entire Cliffside of Quarray Eels d-dead. He couldn't tell what happened… just that all of them were bleeding from the mouth… except for one… one looked like it had been _pulled_ out of its den, it had this look of utter terror on its face that still gives Ironbeak nightmares. Then I heard a story that was passed to me about a wolf pack finding a _hydra_ d-dead, they found it bleeding from its eyes, ears, noses and mouths but nowhere else. There are more stories… so _many_ more… but yes, there is something in Everfree that seems to hunt… for fun."

"And that, my dear pony folks…" Zecora began. "Is why I wish to live here, believe your friend and I, this creature is no hoax."

Everyone was silent for a long moment before…

"I need to tell the Princess!" Twilight shouted before bolting back towards her library.

"Um… welcome to Ponyville?" Pinkie said weakly to Zecora, tossing some confetti into the air.

Oskar for her part was running after Twilight and wasn't bothering to hide the worry she felt, it fit the situation after all.

'_Shit… here I thought the predators would appreciate the food I left for them.' _Oskar thought with an inward scowl. _'That backfired like hell! Grrrr… what else could go wrong?!'_

**ZETA**

Luna paced the halls of the Royal Palace. It was a little into the afternoon and normally the Lunar Princess would be asleep as her duties were done purely at night. But the Moon Alicorn was troubled by that dream she had witnessed some time ago. It bothered her enough that she had started pinning papers to her bedroom wall, outlining details and various theories she had thought up.

First thing was what those bipedal ape creatures were called, that being named Mercer referred to them as humans. Unlike ponies wearing clothes did not seem to be a luxury or character quirk for humans, as every single one she had seen wore clothes that covered their bodies. Their coats also seemed to only come in shades of pink and brown but their manes seemed a lot more varied as she recalled a male with bright blue hair.

Then there were the vicious beasts that were attacking the humans. After careful thinking Luna was absolutely certain that these beasts were once human as well. Though twisted and warped in horrifying and disgusting ways Luna was able to see that their facial features as very reminiscent of humans, not only that but the fact they wore human styled clothing that seemed to be shredded by their own bodies cemented her thinking. She didn't know what to think of the large pink over muscled creatures with the empty eyes, but the fact they didn't attack the humans that were twisted by some vile curse told her they were connected to them in some way, the same could be said for the large blood red tendril creatures that burst out of the ground.

Next was Mercer and the one called Oskar. Luna didn't know what they were, they looked human but considering the fact the humans she saw didn't display the abilities Oskar had and Mercer referred to them like they were a different race from him told her that they were something else entirely. So Luna wondered what they were exactly with what little details she had available to her. From the way Oskar had turned his arms into gleaming claws and had turned himself into a mass of writhing tendrils, Luna postulated that Oskar and Mercer were some sort of shape shifting creature. That immediately brought up thoughts of the Changeling race. Were Mercer and Oskar's race like the Changelings? Was the reason they were in a human city was to prey on the humans for their emotions?

The more Luna thought about it the more she was sure changing their appearance was the only thing the two races had in common. Changelings had their magic they could use to defend and attack but that was it, they couldn't use their ability to change limbs into weapons. Whatever they were, Oskar and Mercer could obviously change their limbs into weapons. And from what she had seen of Oskar they were very brutally effective weapons. From this, Luna hypothesized that the reason they needed such weapons was because instead of emotions they fed on something more… physical. That realization had brought a shudder from the Alicorn. At this Luna took it upon herself to name this breed of Changeling Impius Mutante, which meant "wicked changer".

That brought her back to Oskar the newly classified Impius Mutante or… Imp for short. She wondered at his story since he was obviously the focus of the dream she had seen. From what little she knew Luna guessed two possibilities about Oskar. One: Oskar had… hunted, that human female's son and had taken his place to hunt for more prey. Or Two: the female was Oskar's mother and both are Imps and lived in the human city, hiding in plain sight. But both theories had definite issues. Theory one postulated that Oskar was only pretending to be the female's son, if that were so then why did Oskar show such grief at the female's passing? Theory two proposed that the two were a small Imp family and lived in the human city hunting their prey, but if this was true then why did the mother allow herself to be killed? From what Luna had seen of Oskar's speed the female should have reached her son in moments and fled to safety with him. Luna realized she wasn't seeing the whole picture; there were details that she didn't know.

These were not the only things she had given thought to however. There was that weapon Mercer had named, a "gun". A short period contemplation and Luna was able to determine that the weapons the human warriors were using on their twisted brethren were what Mercer was referring to. Luna was unsure how they worked, only that there would a loud bang and flash of light from the end of the weapon's tube and a distant creature would suddenly spurt blood forth from a new wound… perhaps the weapon… _pushed_ something out of it? At high enough speeds that whatever came out could not be seen? The Lunar Princess' mind struggled to comprehend.

Luna paused beside a pair of slightly open doors. Why was she so worked up over this? It was a dream wasn't it? Perhaps what she had seen was just the workings of a fevered mind; everything made up connected to real events in such a way that only those new psychiatrist ponies could interpret them as such. But… though she had been gone for a thousand years and was still trying to catch up to modern times, Luna trusted her skills and intuition regarding dreams. She felt the details in the dream were too sharp, too clear, and too vivid to just be the usual made up nonsense the subconscious would create. She still hoped she was wrong though, because if she were right then that meant this vicious breed of Changeling, this Imp was close enough for Luna to see his dreams and close enough meant _in _Equestria.

Luna's ears perked up when she heard voices speaking. She turned towards the door where the voices were originating and peeked between the gap into the room. She saw that the room was a small dinging room where her sister was entertaining a guest, a grizzled looking Griffin from the Principalities from the looks of it.

"Are you not enjoying your meal Prince Bergren?" Celestia asked the griffin while enjoying a lush salad with heavy dressing. "My cooks put in such efforts to prepare it despite their own misgivings doing so."

The griffin Bergren snorted and pushed away his plate of well down venison. Bergren a griffin whose body and wings was covered in in gray feathers and down speckled with white dots, his head was covered in pitch black feathers and two ear tufts that seemed to almost give him a bat like appearance. His dark brown, almost black eyes seemed to be stuck in a state of constant insulted glaring. He was also wearing some armor, a half-plate bronze cuirass with bronze chain mail worn underneath.

"Have you made a decision concerning my search expedition yet?" He asked Celestia gruffly.

"I understand you are worried for young Gilda's safety Prince Bergren." Celestia replied in sympathy. "But you must understand you are asking me to allow you to run amok my Kingdom with an entire company of Anvil Knights. Allow me to state that a fully equipped and armed griffin of the Principalities is an intimidating sight. Perhaps if you would instead take a company of my own Royal Guard to track down your missing daughter?"

"Hmph! Rely on ponies, a bunch of herbivores, in a hunt?!" Bergren asked incredulously. "I might as well give up on ever finding Gilda if I do!"

Then the griffin took in Celestia's expression, her raised questioning brow and not amused frown.

"Princess Celestia…"Bergren began calmly and solemnly. "I swear on my Clan's honour and my own honour as a Prince of a Grand Hold that I will do all in my power to not disturb your ponies in my search for Gilda."

Celestia's frown turned thoughtful and she deliberated for a moment before speaking. "Very well Prince Bergren. I accept and hold you to your vow. You may take a company of the Principalities' finest to search Equestria for your daughter."

"I am grateful and indebted Princess." Bergren responded honestly with a respectful bow of his head. "I am sorry to take my leave so soon but I wish to return home immediately. I shall be back very soon with my Anvil Knights Princess." The griffin said as he rose from his seat.

"It is not an issue Prince Bergren, I shall await your arrival." Celestia replied.

Luna turned away from the door and continued on her way. It had been so long since she herself had interacted with a griffin from the Principalities, she still remembered when the Princely States were first founded and how proud the griffins were to have claimed the mountain tops from ancient dragons resting upon them. It would a while longer yet before Luna considered herself ready to re-enter the battlefield that was politics.

Luna paused for a moment as she thought about what the griffin was talking to her sister about and couldn't help but be troubled.

'_Tis a hope that it indeed was a flighty dream.' _Luna thought. _'For if it isn't then youthful indiscretion may not be the reason for young Gilda's disappearance. One can only hope though I fear worst.' _Luna thought with a troubled frown as she made her way back to her room.

**-TBC-**

AN: Well this took a while! :P But at least this chapter was even longer than the previous ones! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and the fact it is the first one that Oskar actually manages to not murder anyone! Progress! :D Anyway this chapter was also fairly quiet and I hope no one minds that but I did manage to put a "action scene" at least.

All right people tell me what you think! Your input is vauled!


	6. Chapter 6: Self Delusion

"Here you go Miss Gleaner." A red earth pony said as she placed a number over Oskar's Cutie Mark. "You're all set for the Running of the Leaves!"

"Thank you." Oskar said to the mare before walking off with her newly applied racing number, number sixty three.

Walking through the crowd Oskar took in the sight of her surroundings. All around her was the clear signs of fall. The grass was dry and brown; the tree leaves were varying shades of orange, red and brown and there was a nip in the air from the oncoming winter season.

'_So familiar yet so alien.' _Oskar thought with a sigh. _'Yet another thing I don't know if I'll get used to.'_

The problem Oskar was having, was that wasn't the first Fall she had experienced in Equestria. In fact, she just gone through one a few months ago and watched the Running of the Leaves from the sidelines during that time before going through a rather mild Winter that lasted a month before needing to be cleaned up. Apparently Winter was not so much a season as more a grandiose form of pesticide here and at the very most, it could only be used up to four times a year. It made sense in retrospect, considering the ponies' management over the weather.

'_And there's another thing about this place that makes it strange.' _Oskar thought. _'They consider letting nature take care of itself as unnatural and go through the efforts of handling weather and the changing seasons. Shoveling up the snow so it melts somewhere else, waking up animals from their hibernations, planting seeds for the next harvest and even leading birds back from their trip south.'_

Oskar had decided to help out when "Winter Wrap Up" came around and had left early enough to get there and receive her green vest to help clean up the fields and plant the crops. She hadn't brought Twilight along because she had actually expected the unicorn to have arrived before her with how eager she was for the event.

However there was one thing Oskar hadn't expected to happen during that event… _singing._

'_Ugh, I wince just thinking about that.' _The virus thought. She couldn't help but groan aloud. _'I mean what hell?! That was the most random out of the blue thing ever! One moment we're all heading to our teams to get everything cleaned then suddenly __**Rainbow Dash**__ of all people starts singing! At first I thought it was some big joke but then Pinkie joined- okay I kind of expected that party pony to do that kind of thing; who I didn't expect to join was Rarity __**and**__ Applejack. Then __**everyone else**__ joined in and started singing about Winter Wrap Up. I actually didn't move for the entire thing because I was so shocked. I mean who could expect the entire town to burst into song?!'_

Suddenly from just above her left ear came a questioning trill. Oskar looked out of the corner of her eye to see a bright blue Parasprite wearing a small red and white scarf with a matching woollen cap standing on the very tip of her ear and looking down at her worriedly.

"I'm fine Navi." Oskar reassured the little insect. "Just thinking about all the craziness during last Winter is all."

"Navi" gave a little trill as she shuddered at the memory. Being an insect the parasprite hadn't enjoyed Winter _at all_ to say the least. Navi had needed to be so bundled up in so much custom made Winter gear that she could barely fly, not that the little bug wanted to fly in the cold, she was perfectly content to hide away in Oskar's mane for extra warmth whenever said viral being went out during the Winter. Needless to say Navi wasn't all that excited about the upcoming Winter either.

Oskar smiled at the parasprite perched on her ear and continued on her way, musing about how she had come to possess the little bug as a pet.

It had happened before Winter Wrap Up and the following fall, when the leaves were still green. Princess Celestia was supposed to be coming in for a casual visit that everyone had decided to turn into a celebration. Oskar had decided to help the Cakes and had been given the job of food critic along Pinkie Pie… actually her job was more along the lines of keeping Pinkie from eating all the food, which the virus had accomplished, save for one cake Pinkie had sneaked when she had been distracted. Later during that day Twilight had come in and was happy at how much food had been prepared. Then Fluttershy arrived.

The shy pegasus had come from the fields just outside Everfree and had brought along a parasprite plus two freshly birthed ones. Twilight had instantly taken to the little bugs for their cuteness but Pinkie had just stuck out her tongue in apparent disgust and left citing a need to get a trombone. Oskar however, having been to Everfree knew exactly what parasprites were and explained how the insects reproduced to the mares, as well as giving a demonstration via feeding one and waiting a few moment for it to cough up a new paraspite. It hadn't taken long for an animal expert like Fluttershy and all around smart unicorn like Twilight to figure out how much of a problem the little bugs could become with their ravenous appetite, and rapid reproduction. Oskar had at first considered offering to simply smash the bugs but reconsidered when she realized Fluttershy and by extension Twilight wouldn't take that all too well. So instead she offered to "limit their ability to have children" to which Twilight thought as a good logical alternative to simply sending them back to Everfree. Fluttershy being Fluttershy wasn't all that enthusiastic about the idea at first because she thought it was horrible to not let the bugs have nice big families. That opinion lasted up until Oskar told her that the reason parasprites needed to have so many offspring was because almost everything in Everfree ate them, and their only natural advantage was the ability to outbreed everything and eat in vast quantities. The pegasus was had been still rather reluctant but was willing to let Oskar work her "magic". And so Oskar had gone about taking the four bugs to the back and giving them all a custom made virus that attacked their reproductive organs and crippled them. Oskar had understated just how "limited" the altered parasprites ability to have children would be, as they would be now limited to none at all. The viral being had then brought the little bugs back to the mares who immediately began fussing over the little things as they had obviously looked very sick after being given a virus that crippled their fertility. Fluttershy had taken two back with her and Twilight decided to keep one while giving the other one to Oskar, which happened to be the one that the Evolved had caused to be birthed. The Cadre Evolved had no idea why she had decided to accept the last parasprite from Twilight as she felt she wasn't the type to keep pets but simply presumed the cuteness of the little guy had gotten to her as well.

Ironically it was fixing the parasprites to be more owner friendly that eventually lead to Oskar being the only one with a parasprite pet. It seemed that parasprites only needed little nutrients from what they ate to survive and the rest went to producing offspring. So with their reproduction permanently shut down the parasprites had excess nutrients that their bodies didn't need. How did their bodies handle having waste? It handled it the way everyone else's handled theirs, by getting rid of it.

Twilight was a logical and friendly pony but like everyone else she had a limit and that limit was crossed when her pet parasprite puked fecal matter all over her favorite books. Fluttershy had also managed to reach hers after several days of cleaning up near constant parasprite puke-poop. Oskar for her part simply cleaned up the puke with a tendril when no one was looking and decided to see how little her parasprite needed to eat in order for her to not puke up the excess. Twilight and Fluttershy had tearfully released their pet parasprites back into the Everfree.

Oskar didn't have it in her to tell them the parasprites would probably be eaten that very day.

'_I remember needing to talk Pinkie down from leading you out of town with her instruments.' _Oskar thought with a smile as she watched Navi flutter about her head. _'That pony had been a bit confused why there wasn't a swarm of parasprites overrunning the town.'_

'… _I still don't know why I keep you.'_ The virus wondered as the little bug settled on her snout briefly to give her a happy smile before buzzing back into the air. _'You're just a little thing who won't be much use to me overall. You can't fight, your ability to carry things though impressive for something your size isn't good enough to be useful to me and you're too cute looking for anyone to take seriously. Yet I bothered to keep Pinkie from taking you away… why?'_

'… _I guess it'll be one of life's mysteries.'_ Oskar thought as she magically held up a noodle elbow for Navi who quickly darted over and ate the offered snack with a happy trill.

As she continued through the crowd Oskar happened to catch some movement up in the sky out of the corner of her eye. Looking up, the Evolved was able to spot an armored griffin with her advanced vision flying high up in the sky.

'_Been seeing more and more of those guys flying around during the last few months.' _The fake unicorn mused. _'I know Celesitia placed some of her Royal Guard along the border of Everfree to keep the "Monster of Everfree" inside so are they mercenaries? …No I wouldn't think so, griffin warriors are too proud to forsake their clans for that sort of work. A task force the Princess negotiated for then? Maybe… Oh well, it doesn't matter anyways. I intend to stay out of Everfree until this blows over, I can always find somewhere else to train my more conspicuous abilities.'_ Oskar nodded at that and sped up to a trot when she spotted a familiar shade of purple in the crowd.

"Hey Twilight." Oskar greeted the other unicorn.

"Hello Emerald!" Twilight said and when Navi lighted down on her snout added. "Oh and hello to you too Navi you little cutie!"

Oskar shook her head in amusement as Navi gave a pleased trill and took off into the air again. Twilight always did regret having to let go her own parasprite since she thought the bugs were adorable. Plus, the Evolved had to put in extra effort into training Navi to only eat what she gave her as Twilight liked to sneak the little thing treats when she could, nowadays Navi brought the treats she got back with her in the hopes that Oskar would let her eat it.

"So you entered this Fall's Running of the Leaves Twilight?" Oskar asked with a gesture to the violet unicorn's racing number.

"Yes I did." Twilight confirmed with a nod. "After watching last Fall's Running I was interested in giving it a try. I can see that you thought the same."

"Yeah, I decided I wanted to give this competition a try." Oskar replied as they made their way to the starting line. "I remember you telling me you weren't exactly the athletic sort, are you going to be alright?"

"I would think so; I read this book about racing." Twilight answered. "And I learned that the best way to get a good finishing position is to pace yourself and sprint to finish when you're in the final stretch!"

"Huh, think I'll join you as you pace yourself." Oskar responded as they arrived to the starting line. "Plus I think I'll get a good look at the scenery, it looks like Fall will be extra nice this year."

"That's what I was thinking as well." Twilight smiled as she lined up at the start.

"Twilight?!" Exclaimed a disbelieving voice. "What in tarnation are you doing up here?"

Oskar turned to see next to them was Rainbow Dash and Applejack. The virus vaguely recalled that the two were in some sort of competition against each other. Oskar didn't really know though as she had been busy testing out her magic on anything and everything she could despite the fact that she was over dragged to watch one said competition.

"I'm racing!" The unicorn cheerfully replied.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha! Good one Twilight!" Dash said with a laugh, giving Twilight a friendly shove.

"I'm not joking." Twilight said with a slightly strained smiled.

"What?!" Dash said incredulously. "You're not an athlete you're a… well… you're an egghead."

"I am _not_ an egghead!" Twilight defended. "I'm well read."

Dash proceeded to whisper something softly to Applejack that made the two of them crack up. Still laughing a little Applejack turned to Twilight.

"But have ya ever run a race?" The cowpony asked with a snicker.

"Well… no…" Twilight admitted. "_But_ I do know a lot about the subject."

"And you know this from?" Dash asked though she looked like she already knew the answer.

"Books." Twilight answered confidently. "I've read several on the subject."

That was apparently the wrong answer as both Dash and Applejack burst into laughter.

"You have to admit you're not really helping your case the way you're presenting it." Oskar stated with a smile. "The way you're explaining this makes you seem rather naïve."

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash readily agreed from her spot on the ground, having fallen over in her fit of laughter. "I mean what did you read? The "The Egghead's Guide to Running", did you have to stretch out your eye muscles?" At that Dash started rolling around in barely controlled giggling. "Get it? _Eye muscles_? Ha!"

Twilight was about give a slightly indignant reply when Pinkie broke in from above.

"All right ponies, are you ready?" The party mare asked from her balloon.

Immediately all the ponies in the group got into ready stances to take off as fast as possible.

"Get set…" Spike said and a moment later a bell rang out, causing all the racers to burst forward in a stampede.

At first Oskar was at the head of the pack along with Twilight Applejack and Rainbow Dash, Navi trailing along in the air above her, but she saw Twilight willingly slow herself down to begin pacing herself for her racing strategy. So Oskar slowed down as well to keep the other unicorn company like she said she was going to. Before long both her and Twilight were moving at a fast trot and a short distance behind the main pack as they continued to charge ahead.

Leaves fell from the trees in droves all around the two unicorns and Oskar took this as an opportunity to continue her magical practices.

Focusing on a few falling leaves Oskar levitated them over her head as she continued at a fast trot beside Twilight. When the leaves where circling above her Oskar set to work, in a flash of light the leaves become eight random household objects floating above her, with yet another flash they changed into a different set.

Oskar tilted her head to the side before mashing the objects together and with another flash of light transformed them into a bowl full of oranges. At this Navi gave a thrilled trill and dived for the newly created bowl of fruits.

"No." Oskar said firmly, making the little bug come to a stop before the bowl.

Navi glided down on the lip of the bowl and stared longingly at the fruits before turning to Oskar and pouting at her.

"I said no, Navi." The virus stated. "You don't want to end up puking again do you? And I already fed you before the race started."

The blue parasprite shook her head in reply and sadly lifted off the levitating bowl. Oskar sighed at the sight of this.

"Tell you what Navi…" The Evolved began as she continued trotting forward. "You put a lot of effort into working off that noodle I fed you and I promise to give you a treat by the end of the race, deal?"

Navi trilled excitedly and began rapidly buzzing about overhead before flying up above the treetops.

"Don't go too far!" Oskar shouted with a smile before turning to Twilight and noticing the unicorn smiling warmly at her. "What?"

"You take such good care of your pet parasprite Emerald." Twilight said sadly as she trotted. "I wish I was more like you, then maybe I would still have mine too."

"You don't want to be more like me Twilight." Oskar replied decisively. "If you were more like me then you wouldn't be Twilight. Besides you can't really blame yourself too much, some animals have special needs that some ponies are just not prepared or ready to handle. I guess I was just more able to handle cleaning up puke poop then you… and I did have the luck of Navi not puking on my favorite stuff."

"Maybe… and I would think being more like you would be a good thing." Twilight said. "You're strong, smart, confident and… well you're beautiful too."

"Okay now you're overdoing it, I know you're regretting letting your parasprite go but it was the best thing to do in the end." Oskar responded with a grimace, feeling each word Twilight said like they were physical blows, as the traits that the unicorn said she had were all stolen… and the confidence was most definitely a mask. "And you make it sound like I'm some perfect being… but I'm not, I know I'm not, Twilight. I've had to go through so much to get where I am today…" Oskar paused and looked up into the sky, it was a mostly clear day and the only other thing in the sky was Pinkie's hot air balloon. The virus could even catch bits of Pinkie's commentary as the wind shifted; she was apparently talking about noses.

The Cadre Evolved looked back down towards the ground just in time to catch Applejack at the front of the pack suddenly trip on something and disappear beneath the mass of the racing pones. Oskar frowned worriedly as she wondered if the cowpony had been trampled but a moment later she reappeared and was no worse for wear as she got back up.

"Ah don't believe it!" Applejack exclaimed.

"Hmm?" Oskar hummed a question as both she and Twilight came to a stop beside the mare.

"Rainbow Dash tripped me!" The cowpony said.

"She did not." Twilight said in defense of her other friend.

"She did too!" Applejack insisted.

"She did _not_," Twilight said again and pointed to a rock in the road as she added. "And if you slowed down and looked where you're going, like me, you'd see that you tripped over a rock."

"What? Oh, hayseeds!" The cowpony cursed as she caught sight of the rock before turning back to look at the distancing pack of racers. "Now I got a lot of ground to make up to catch Rainbow!"

"Just be careful!" Twilight shouted as Applejack took off.

"Am I missing something?" Oskar asked as she and Twilight went off at a run to make up ground. "Applejack seems a bit… I don't know, aggressive maybe?"

"I forgot that you spent the entire iron pony competition practicing your magic." Twilight replied.

"Well I know she's in a competition with Dash but I didn't think Applejack would be so far into it that she would be accusing Dash of cheating." Oskar said with a shake of her head and magically unpeeled an orange from her floating bowl before beginning to eat.

"She and Dash are just caught up in the energy of competition is all." Twilight answered. "I'm sure they will stop before it gets too bad."

"Hmm." Oskar hummed a reply as she placed separated pieces of oranges in her mouth. The virus proceeded to study her surroundings a bit more and took in the bare trees and the leaf covered ground. Memories surged up unbidden, memories of times before when she was an un-viral he, of dreading the months the before winter arrived.

"I used to be afraid of fall…" Oskar said quietly as she trotted.

"… Why?" Twilight asked."

Oskar was silent for a long moment, internally debating whether or not she should answer. "… Before when I was younger… when I was a powerless child who thought she was ready for all the world's challenges, I experienced my first bitterly cold winter alone. I almost lost pieces of myself to the cold and almost died from hunger…" Oskar paused, lost in memories and deaf to her companion's shocked gasp. "That first winter alone taught me to be afraid when the leaves changed colors, to pour all my energy and efforts into finding proper shelter and to find as much food as possible. Despite my efforts none of the winters ever approached any form of comfort… but I survived, and in the end that was all that mattered."

"Why did you have to live with that kind of life?" Twilight asked in a pained voice. "Couldn't you have simply approached somepony, anypony and asked for help?"

"I-I-I…" Oskar began haltingly and swallowed before trying to speak again. "I wasn't born here Twilight, I'm originally from out of Equestria."

"From across the ocean?"

"You could probably walk across the world several times and still not be anywhere near my birth country." Oskar replied.

"That does sound far away."

"Yeah… I couldn't ask for help, everypony else had problems, and taking in some orphan would only add to their troubles." Oskar explained. "Trust me if any of the government shelters were… _any good _then I would have gone to them."

"But what kind of pony would deny a child help? That just seems too cruel…" Twilight said softly.

"… There was a disaster." Oskar answered after a moment. "Everypony needed help and there was just not enough help to go around… I guess I just slipped into the cracks."

'_And I'm glad I managed to do that.'_ Oskar thought. _'Too many homeless and people who wouldn't be missed disappeared from those standard issue tents and cots, disappeared into those labs to be used in some experiment or fed to a monster.'_

"That disaster was what claimed you mother's life wasn't it?" Twilight asked hesitantly.

"Yeah…" Oskar responded with a tired sigh. "Yeah it was…"

"I'm sorry… we should talk about something else." Twilight said apologetically.

The two unicorns became silent though as they caught up to the pack and reduced their speed a bit. Then as the pack in front of them run off to the right at a fork the sound of laughter started to be heard over the thunder of hooves. When the racers galloped past the fork Rainbow Dash was revealed, laughing her head off and leaning on a sign. And when the rainbow maned pegasus noticed their approach she seemed to briefly panic before turning to the sign, fiddling with it before focusing back on them.

"Hello Dash." Oskar greeted her. "I kind of expected you to be at the head of the pack instead of here."

"Ha, I'll definitely- what do you mean?" The pegasus proclaimed with a briefly wild eyed look before looking confused.

"Everypony passed you when you were laughing." Twilight told her.

"Oh horseapples!" Dash exclaimed before sprinting down the road after the other racers.

"What do you think she was doing with that sign?" Oskar asked Twilight as they continued on themselves.

"Sorry, I didn't see." Twilight replied with a shake of her head. "I was busy thinking."

"Hmm." With silence between the two reigned again. And as they continued on at keeping pace with the rest of the racers, Oskar continued to eat her transfigured oranges. Before long she was on her last but before she started eating the pieces, she paused and glanced at Twilight. Making a decision Oskar transfigured the bowl, now full of orange peelings, into a leaf and levitated the orange to her friend.

"Here Twilight." Oskar said to the surprised unicorn.

"Oh thank you Emerald!" Twilight replied with a bright smile and took a hold of the orange with her own magic.

"You did help me figure out how to work out that very spell Twilight." Oskar responded with a shrug. "Just my way of saying thanks."

"Well I should be the one thanking you Emerald." Twilight said between slices of orange. "You gave me the inspiration to advance my own magical education and work out that spell long before I would have started practicing it."

"It's the oddest stuff that manages to make things click isn't it?" Oskar asked with a grin. "All I did was fall over when I accidently changed the properties of those books to resemble super balls. Ohhh… those looked like it stung to get hit by…"

"Spike has thick scales, I'm sure he was fine… maybe annoyed with the massive mess the library was in, but fine." Twilight replied with her own grin. "But yes it's odd, but the results can't be denied. It's just like I told you just before I started teaching you, you only truly begin to understand what you are trying to learn when you try to teach it to somepony else, brainstorming the spell with you definitely sped the process up."

"Think I can focus on magical education from now on?" Oskar asked.

"I don't know Emerald… the Princess did say you would be able to easily get into university by the time I was done with you and I'm not confident you know _that_ much just yet." Twilight responded with a dubious glance at the other unicorn as she ate the last piece of orange.

"Just thought I'd ask…" Oskar said with an exaggerated sigh.

"Cheer up Emerald!" Twilight urged happily. "I know you'd rather be practicing magic full time but those other subjects are just as important or even more so in some cases. And besides, with the unbelievable speed you've been learning the subjects you might be all caught up _and_ finished by next year at most!"

"Just more incentive to put more effort in I suppose." Oskar said as she spied Pinkie's balloon swooping down with Applejack hanging off a rope.

She was about to issue Twilight a question about this when she felt something lightly impact the top of her head. Her ears were soon filled with the sound of panting and wheezing from whatever had landed on her head.

"Oh it's Navi!" Twilight exclaimed. "She looks so tired; I think she deserves that treat you promised."

"If you say so Twilight." Oskar said in a faux doubtful voice. "I can't really see her atop my head so for all I know she's just acting and you're playing along."

Oskar only chuckled when she heard Navi trilling out loud denials from atop her head. "I'm only teasing you Navi; I know you were up there flying your wings off. You deserve a treat from one of the stalls when we reach the finish line. Why don't you just snuggle in till we get there?"

Navi didn't reply, she just wiggled in place until she was properly buried in Oskar's mane and proceeded to take a catnap. Consequently this act left the very top of the parasprite's head visible and made it look like Oskar was wearing a really tiny red and white woolen hat on her head.

"What?" Oskar asked when Twilight squeaked out a giggle.

"Nothing!" Twilight said as she tried to hold in further laughter.

"Looks like the final stretch is right there." Oskar stated still unaware of her comical appearance.

"Okay, ready to sprint Emerald?" Twilight asked her fellow unicorn.

"I was made rea- huh?" Oskar started but stopped when she saw Rainbow Dash and Applejack ride a rock shelf down a hill side.

"Umm, girls?" Twilight said to them as they passed. "I know I'm not an athlete, but shouldn't the Running of the Leaves actually involve running?"

"Those two will be lucky to get in the top five with the way they keep distracting each other." Oskar said with a smile before turning serious. "Alright ready? GO!"

With that the two unicorns sprinted with all they had… well actually one sprinted with all they had, the other was still holding back quite a bit even though she was practically already on top of the racers.

"AHHHHH!"

"Ohmigosh!"

"Dear Celestia!"

"Dear me, you're fast Emerald!"

"Sorry!" Oskar shouted back at the group of racers who couldn't help but move out of her way, though that last voice was rather familiar. The virus turned her head back to face forward but noticed that Twilight was taking advantage of the disruption Oskar's one mare stampede had created to take second place.

A few moments later Oskar was skidding to a stop as she ran over the finish line to a thunderous cheer. The Evolved sighed as she took a look back to see Twilight cross over the finish line a few moments later with Bon Bon right on her heels in a close third.

'_So that's whose voice that was.'_ Oskar mused though her thoughts quickly wondered off. _'I did intend to run fast enough to get first but not __**that**__ fast. Good thing everyone seems to be more impressed then suspicious. What happened though? Hmm… I think I've improved my base speed from eating all those big, strong creatures in Everfree. The last time I tested my speed was in the burned out ruins of Manhattan, I just managed to max out at 214 mph after clearing out a section of Times Square.'_

'_Anyway, I guess I'll need to do some speed testing when I get the chance.' _The Cadre Evolved thought as she walked over to Twilight and Bon Bon.

"Well I got first and you got second, not bad for first timers huh?" Oskar asked Twilight and got a smile from the panting unicorn. "What about you Bon Bon? This your first race too?"

"Yes actually, although I jog every morning to keep trim." The earth pony mare responded as the three of them plus two others were approached by Mayor Mare for medals. "I decided to test how fit I am by running this race, I would think I'm pretty fit!"

"I declare the Running of the Leaves a…" Here Mayor Mare paused as she wanted to say the event was a success but it was very clear that more than a few trees still had leaves."… A _partial_ success."

"Is it just me or do we only ever manage to partly complete stuff?" Oskar asked the other racers quietly.

Twilight gave her friend a reproving look but Bon Bon and the other two top five racers couldn't help but snicker at the remark.

"By the way, Twilight this is Bon Bon. She is a mare I meet in Ponyville when you were out battling dragons. Bon Bon I think you already know who Twilight is." Oskar said as she introduced the two.

Twilight was about to greet the mare when Pinkie's voice sounded from overhead.

"It's Applejack, it's Rainbow Dash, it's Applejack, it's Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie shouted over her bullhorn.

Oskar turned her head just in time to see Applejack and Rainbow Dash roll over the finish line in a tangled up tumble.

"I won!" Dash exclaimed happily when she stood up.

"No!" Applejack denied with a glare. "Ah won!"

"I won!" Dash insisted angrily.

"You tied!" Spike broke in form above.

"Tied!" Both mare said incredulously.

"For first?" Applejack asked.

"For last!" Pinkie Pie answered.

"Last?!" The cowpony shouted disbelievingly.

"Then… who won?!" Dash asked with a shocked expression.

Oskar shook her head at the two mares before turning to Bon Bon and Twilight. "Come on let's go see them. Twilight you go first, I want them to see you with a big shiny medal."

Twilight did so with a smile and roll of her eyes and Bon Bon came along as asked, though she was looking as though like she felt like a fifth wheel.

"YOU?!" Applejack and Rainbow Dash said simultaneously at the sight of Twilight with a medal.

"Oh no, but I did get _second._" Twilight replied pleasantly though she couldn't help but smile at the two mare's utterly dumbstruck expressions. "Which is rather good considering that I've never run a race before."

"I'm the one that won first." Oskar stated happily with Bon Bon standing just beside her with a nervous smile.

"What?" Applejack said looking between the two of them. "How's that even possible?"

"Yeah, you two ran so slow!" Dash exclaimed. "I mean the both of you were way at the back during the _entire _race!"

"We paced ourselves!" Twilight answered, happy to be sharing a bit of book knowledge. "Just like my book said. Then at the end, when all the other ponies were worn out, we sprinted to the finish. I explained it to Emerald before the race started and she decided to do the same."

"Emerald I could believe… but _Twilight_ of all ponies beating us?" Dash stated with an incredulous shake of her head.

"Well with all your horsing around it was quite easy." Twilight stated pointedly with a smile.

"You're right, Twilight." Applejack said shamefully. "Our behavior was jus' terrible."

"We weren't very good sports." Dash admitted ruefully.

Suddenly a voice broke in that made Oskar stiffen and inhale sharply.

"Sounds to me like an important lesson was learned." Princess Celestia stated.

"Princess Celestia?!" Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash exclaimed

Ponies gasped and bowed as their ruler unexpectedly announced her arrival. The ponies around Oskar quickly turned to face the alicorn before giving a quick bow. Oskar herself stayed standing for a moment as she watched the Goddess of the Sun approach before she caught herself and bowed as well.

Celestia frowned upon spotting the expression on Oskar's face before she had bowed, saddened and disappointed by the fact the unicorn was still frightened of her.

"Wha… what are you doing here?" Applejack asked.

"Fall is one of my favorite season," The Princess explained with a serene smile. "So I came to celebrate the Running of the Leaves.

"A'm sorry ya had to see us being such poor sports, Princess." The cowpony said as both she and Dash bowed their heads shamefully.

"That's all right, Applejack." Celestia assured. "Anypony can get swept up in the excitement of competition."

"It's important to remember that the friendship is always more important than the competition." Twilight told the two.

"Exactly, Twilight." Celestia told her student before turning back to Applejack and dash. "Now, unfortunately, because the two of you were busy tricking each other instead of shaking down leaves, many of the lovely trees of Equestria are still covered." She finished with a wave of her wing, gesturing to said trees.

"Why, Princess, I bet we can knock those leaves down for you lickety-split." Applejack said confidently before smiling at Rainbow Dash. "Whaddya say, friend? Wanna go for another run?"

"I'd love to stretch my legs." Dash answered before the two of them bolted back down the race track.

With the two mares gone Celestia then turned her attention on Oskar, who couldn't help but openly wince at the attention.

Now it wasn't that Oskar still thought Celestia was some kind of tyrant, liable to punish for any perceived or made up insult. She was very aware that Celestia was a_ very_ benevolent ruler and seemed the type to tolerate quite a bit before being provoked. However Oskar was also _very_ aware that Celestia was a goddess and could potentially obliterate her in an instant with her power. It was simply instinctive for Oskar to fear those more powerful than her from all the time she spent as Alex Mercer's elite soldier. It was even worse since the virus considered Celestia a future enemy and so felt out of her depth and vulnerable whenever the Princess tried being friendly with her.

"You still fear me Emerald?" Celestia asked the viral being sadly.

"I-please forgive me for my d-disrespectful behavior Princess." Oskar said nervously before bowing in hopes of appeasing the unhappy ruler.

Celestia only looked more upset. "It's… it's quite alright Emerald."

"Well Twilight, I shall leave you with your friends then." Celestia said to her student as "Emerald's" reaction to her was attracting quite a bit of staring and muttering. So unwilling to ruin Twilight's time with causing even more of a scene Celestia turned about and walked away.

It was quiet for a long moment before a shocked Bon Bon broke it.

"Emerald… I didn't know you were afraid of Princess Celestia." The gossipy mare said. "Why in the wide world of Equestria are you afraid of her?"

"She… when she first met her she thought the Princess would be disgusted of her status as a homeless travel pony." Twilight explained when Oskar didn't answer. "I suppose you still haven't shaken of your fear of the Princess have you Emerald?"

Oskar sighed and shook her head.

"Bon Bon?" She said.

"Yes Emerald?"

"Is your friend Lyra here?" Oskar asked.

"Yes… I would think she'd be in the crowd somewhere." Bon Bon answered as she took a look at the ponies around her. "Why?"

"I would like to introduce her to Twilight too." Oskar replied with a convincing smile on her face.

"Oh… well okay I'll be back in a few minutes, you'll stay here right?" Bon Bon asked and walked away when Oskar nodded.

When Bon Bon when far enough away Twilight spoke up.

"Emerald?"

"Yes?"

"The way you react to the Princess… it has something to do with the way you were orphaned doesn't it?" Twilight asked softly.

Oskar sighed and remained silent for a long moment before replying. "Among the many survival lessons I learned when I was by myself, one is that when you are in the shadow of giants, you shouldn't bring attention to yourself, unless you want to be stepped on."

"And Twilight… I'm not really in the mood to answer any more questions about my life from before I met you." Oskar said as she gazed into the sky. "I just want to focus on the here and now, to introduce you to some ponies I met and feed this little black hole on my head."

"I understand Emerald." Twilight replied and gave the viral being a reassuring hug. "But if you ever need somepony to talk to I'll always be there, alright?"

"I hear you Twilight… and thanks." Oskar responded.

With that the two waited for a few moments longer before Bon Bon and Lyra arrived and thr group of four proceeded to enjoy the post-Running of the Leaves activities.

**ALPHA**

"There's another one." Oskar stated aloud, staring up into the sky where the form of a distant flying griffin could be seen, Navi stood on her left ear wearing a little dark blue beret.

"Where?" Twilight asked as she glanced herself and was barely able to make out the distant dot as a griffin. "You have very good eyes Emerald."

"What's a griffin doing here?" Applejack wondered, shading her eyes with a hoof as she struggled to make out the distant being.

"I've been seeing them flying around for a few months now." Oskar replied, her powerful eyes making out the griffin's brown cloak and green tunic worn underneath. "They always stay just out of sight or far enough away that most ponies wouldn't even notice them."

"Maybe Princess Celestia asked the Principalities for aid to guard against the Monster of Everfree?" Twilight mused. "And they sent some griffins to help patrol the border?"

"I'm thinking that too." Oskar stated with a nod.

"Well whatever they're doing, they're minding their own business." Applejack said simply before continuing on her way. "Ah think we should return the favour."

"Right." Twilight agreed and walked after the cowpony, her saddlebags rattling with the movement.

"So what are you going to be wearing for the Gala Emerald?" Twilight asked the virus. "I'm wearing the dress Rarity gave me when we first, I just need her to mend it a bit."

"I literally don't have anything to wear." Oskar answered. "I'm going to commission a dress from Rarity with some of the allowance you give me."

"Sounds like a plan!" Twilight said with a smile as they arrived at Rarity's boutique.

The three entered into the studio where Rarity would normally be, either working on designs or attending to customers. The glamorous unicorn was not present however.

"She must be in the back." Twilight stated and headed for one of the side doors. "Come on."

Oskar followed Twilight and Applejack as they opened the door and entered a hall, the two ponies proceeding to randomly open doors in the search for Rarity. The Evolved stood back a bit with a small frown, wondering if just barging into Rarity's home was really something they ought to be doing. A moment later Applejack waved the others over, having apparently found the door with Rarity behind it. She knocked loudly and briefly before throwing it open.

"Howdy Rarity!" Applejack shouted as she entered with Twilight close behind.

"Shhh!" Twilight shushed Applejack as she caught sight of Rarity currently busy. "Can't you see Rarity's trying to concentrate?"

Oskar entered into what appeared to be Rarity's private design studio slash bedroom, said unicorn currently hard at work on a partially put together dress. She briefly took note of the others' arrival into the room but quickly refocused on her work as they took up positions just behind her. Navi took off and buzzed over to Opalescence who was napping on a desk. The little insect lit down just before the snooty feline and gave in inquisitive trill, waking her briefly. Opal just took one look at the bug in front of her before promptly yawning and returning to sleep. Navi gave an annoyed warble before buzzing about and landing on Opal's little upright ponytail, giving a louder trill to the impressively unresponsive cat.

'_Opal never seems to like anyone…' _Oskar thought with amusement before adding. _'She better not try to eat Navi though… I'd be liable to return the favour.'_

"What do ya think she's makin?" Applejack asked in what could be charitably called a stage whisper.

"Looks like a dress." Twilight answered in the same sort of whisper.

"Well that makes sense," The cowpony replied with a sly smile. "This being a dressmaker's shop an all."

Oskar raised a brow at the two mares; did they really think they were being quiet? She could easily tell that Rarity was quickly becoming annoyed with the two, a fact Rarity herself quickly proved when she growled softly before looking back with a fabricated smile.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Rarity asked with well hidden irritation.

"Oh, so very sorry to trouble you Rarity but I need a quick favour…" Twilight said apologetically before reaching into her saddlebags with her mouth.

'_Pony mouths are so strange at times.' _Oskar mused as Twilight pulled out her dress. _'You'd think since ponies can manipulate things with their hooves that normally would be impossible without hands, they wouldn't need to learn how to use their mouths that way. Yet they do it anyway… why?'_

"Could you please fix a button for me?" Twilight asked after laying down the dress on a desk. "It's my dress for the Grand Galloping Gala."

"Oh no, no, no!" Rarity Gasped at the sight of the outfit. "You can't wear this… egh, _old thing_!"

"You need a glamorous new outfit for the gala!" The unicorn declared. "And I'll make it for you. No problem at all! It would be my pleasure!" She finished with a excited nod.

"That's really sweet of you to offer Rarity…" Twilight began with a smile. "But I can't let you do that; it would be so much work… this dress is fine."

"Twilight Sparkle, I insist on making you a new dress." Rarity simply replied.

"But-"

"Not another word!" Rarity interrupted, waving her hoof in the other unicorn's face. "I won't take no for an answer."

With that Rarity turned her attention to Applejack and gave a disapproving look over to the cowpony. Looking like she already know the answer the unicorn asked a question.

"Let me guess Applejack, you don't want a new dress either." Rarity said with a raised brow and a frown.

"Gown?" Applejack stated incredulously. "Shoot, ah was just gonna wear my old work duds."

"You can't possibly be serious Applejack!" Rarity gasped. "You absolutely must wear formal attire!"

Applejack tapped her lip thoughtfully for a brief moment before answering. "Nah!"

"What if I just spruce up your uh…_duds_ for you a little bit?" Rarity offered.

"Umm… Okay sure why not since you're offering an all." Applejack said before adding with a frown. "Just don't make them too… _frou frouey_."

"Deal!" Rarity agreed before finally turning to Oskar. "And what about you Emerald? Do you want a new dress as well?"

"I was here for just that reason actually." Oskar answered as she stepped closer. "I don't own any clothing whatsoever and the Gala is obviously a formal event. So I came here to commission something from you."

"Commission?!" The other unicorn exclaimed. "Emerald darling I'll not accept payment of any kind for this! You're a dear friend to me… and besides, it's an utter travesty that a mare such as yourself has nothing to wear!"

"Free?" Oskar stated with a smile. "Well you definitely won't be seeing me complaining, thanks a lot Rarity!"

"Not a problem at all Emerald!" Rarity replied smiling.

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" Came Rainbow Dash's voice from above.

Oskar looked up and immediately stepped back to avoid Rainbow as she crashed through the roof. She watched with surprised eyes as said pegasus bounced off the floor and flew back into a group of dummies of cloths. What was even more surprising was how Rainbow Dash seemed to easily recover from the crash, standing up with a bucket on her head and some cloths hanging off of her.

"Heh, sorry about that." The pegasus apologized as she adjusted the bucket on her head. "New trick, didn't quite work. And those griffins clogging the airways didn't help."

"You noticed them too?" Oskar asked. "I've been catching glances of them flying way up in the sky for several months now."

"They always fly out of sight when a pegasus tries to go see them too." Dash replied.

"Idea!" Rarity suddenly broke in excitedly. "I'll you an outfit for the Gala too Rainbow Dash!"

"Outfit for the what now?" Dash asked confusedly.

"I'll make for you and you and all of you!" The unicorn continued, pointing at Dash then Twilight before hopping with a just realized thought. "Oh! And of course Pinkie and Fluttershy too! Oh and when I'm done we could hold our very own fashion show!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"That's a great idea!" Twilight complimented before adding. "If you're sure you can handle it."

"Oh it will be a little bit of work but it will be a wonderful boost for my business." Rarity simply replied. "Plus, fun!"

"Oh I love fun things!" Dash said enthusiastically.

"Er… sure, why not, I'm game." Oskar said with some hesitation before shrugging it off.

"Then it's settled." Rarity stated as she already set to work measuring and cutting bolts of cloth. "We'll hold a fashion show, starring us!"

Everyone cheered as Oskar simply smiled.

'_Being in a fashion show would give me a lot of exposure wouldn't it?' _The Evolved thought. _'This wouldn't exactly be a good thing for my obscurity… then again Twilight is the student of Princess Celestia and I'm being tutored by her, I'm fairly certain I'm not that unknown. I guess there's no helping it in the long run; I'm doomed to be a known face one way or the other. Besides… this sounds like it could be fun or at the least interesting.'_

As Rarity approached the fake unicorn to take her measurements she nodded inwardly. She might as well have fun with the situation.

**BETA**

"Just follow me and close your eyes when we get inside the boutique!" Rarity said excitedly as she lead her friends to her home. "Oh I know you'll just love them!"

'_Rarity works fast, seems like it was just yesterday she was taking measurements… actually she was.' _Oskar thought before smiling sheepishly to herself.

It seemed that the glamorous unicorn was only too happy and excited to making her friends dresses, as after taking measurements the day before she was already done and asking them to come see in the afternoon of the next day. Not to say the effort she put in didn't have an effect on her, as her normally perfectly combed and conditioned mane was looking a bit frazzled. There was little problem though, Rarity had not started let alone finished "Emerald's" dress.

"I'm truly sorry for the delay Emerald." Rarity said apologetically as they approached her shop. "This normally does not happen to me but I'm simply stuck as to what sort of style would suit a mare like you."

"Don't worry Rarity, the fashion show would only be held when you're done." Oskar reassured the unicorn. "And the Gala is months away anyway, you have plenty of time to think up something for me."

"Even so… I again apologize for the wait." Rarity replied, throwing the viral being a warm smile that she couldn't help but return.

"Okay now close your eyes!" Rarity said as they entered her boutique. "I'll lead you to your dresses; they're just in one of the back rooms."

Everyone did as asked and closed their eyes save for Oskar who didn't see a reason to as her dress wasn't even started yet. The Evolved was actually interested to see the fruits of Rarity's labour. She wasn't exactly interested in fashion in any major way but more than a few memories gave her insights into it and… well, she just wanted to believe that Rarity would do a good job in designing stunning original dresses … for some unfathomable reason that wasn't clear to her.

"That's it, keep them closed!" Rarity said with a smile as she lead her friends into the room containing the dresses. "Don't look!"

The moment Oskar herself entered the room she couldn't help but come to a stop when she saw the dresses Rarity worked so hard to make.

"Wow…" The Evolved exclaimed softly to herself. She really couldn't help it, even without the insight of several fashion minded memories her untrained eyes would have easily declared the outfits before her as beautiful. And upon taking a more focused look she was even more impressed.

Each dress was designed specifically for the wearer's personality and their likes in mind.

Twilight's dress was star spangled and light blue and had this star shaped hair clip in the dummy's head. It certainly called to the unicorn's magical talent and the dress made Oskar think of a flowing wizards robe yet was distinctly feminine.

Fluttershy's dress had a definite earthy feel to it with it looking like it was made with still living plants. Vines and lily pads for the shoes, flowers lining near the base of the dress with two butterflies serving as a brooch and hair pin. The pegaus' passion for nature was very clear in the outfit.

Rainbow Dash's outfit made Oskar think of the Olympics. It had brass shoes with brass laurel leaves serving as a sort of headband and false decorative grapes on a pearl necklace, the large voluminous dress definitely called out to Dash's home of Cloudsdale and her distinctive hair color.

Applejack's dress suited her for its basic and practical design which was only such when compared to the other dresses. Rarity really had taken Applejack's old "work duds" and dressed them up a bit as the strong materials were very clear, but she had also managed to make it look like something the cowpony could wear for a formal event like the Gala yet put it on the next day for farm work.

Finally Pinkie Pie's dress was _very_ pink and frilly. It also looked like some very decorative baker's uniform which ultimate fit the pony in question, it had quite a bit of embroidery depicting quite a few sweets around the waist of the dress, also very fitting. Overall it was very obvious what that dress set out to say and that fit Pinkie as well.

Oskar smiled as Rarity talked, having already told her friends to open their eyes and started going into detail about the dress. For the Evolved the best part about the whole thing was how Opal of all people was rubbing against the dresses and giving off pleases purrs.

'_You know something is done right when little miss grumpy cat likes it.'_ Oskar thought with a small laugh and smiled as she turned to see the expressions on the other mares' faces. _'They're probably ecstatic; these dresses are absolutely… umm…'_

Oskar's thoughts ground to a halt as she caught sight of the five mares. She had been expecting them to be smiling and happy at how well the dresses had turned out. Instead the five were giving the dresses gaping almost disappointed looks as Rarity continued to go on about how each dress fit them so well.

'_They… don't like them?' _Oskar thought incredulously. _'How can they not like them?! I mean look at them! They're beautiful! I'm going to… wait, calm down… maybe they just feel that these dresses are just not their style? And besides, their dislike of something Rarity obviously put so much work into would be to my advantage. No one likes having their hard work being spat on, even less so when the ones doing the spitting are close friends.'_

By this time Rarity had begun to notice the dresses weren't having the effect she had expected on her friends, making her smiling become more nervous with every passing second. It was made worse by her friends' rather forced compliments.

"It's… nice…" Fluttershy said glumly.

"But what's the matter? Don't you like them?" Rarity asked with a worried frown.

"They're very nice!" Twilight reassured with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"An we're plum grateful cause ya worked so hard em!" Applejack added with a matching smile.

"Mine's just not as cool as I was imagining." Dash stated honestly, getting dual glares from Twilight and Applejack for it. The pegasus looked between the two mares giving her looks before stating with a srug. "She asked."

"… I guess what we're all saying is… they're just not what we had in mind." Twilight said nervously.

The hurt radiating from Rarity's expression was practically palpable to Oskar and for a brief moment she wanted to speak up on the unicorn's behalf. The Cadre Evolved quickly and ruthlessly crushed that urge down and resolved to simply sit back and watch the scene unfold.

And that's what Oskar did… albeit with more reluctance then she was comfortable with.

Rarity appeared to quickly get over and shrug off her friends negative reaction to the dresses made for them. It was quite clear to the Evolved however that the unicorn's newfound enthusiasm for making entirely new dresses with her friends input on every step was just a show. Indeed the unicorn's smile was becoming ever more clearly false as the others thanked her for deciding to make new dresses.

Following the others out Oskar looked back into the room before closing the door behind her. She saw Rarity ever more strained smile disappear to reveal her dejected expression and with her powerful hearing Oskar was able to make out the unicorn despairingly ask herself what she gotten into.

The fake pony felt something clench in her chest and for a brief confused moment thought she had somehow pulled a muscle. Shaking herself of the confusion Oskar realized she was feeling sympathetic for the unicorn. Sighing audibly, the Evolved simply continued on her way and reminded herself that this is what she wanted. This could be a good way for a division to appear amongst the Bearers of the Elements and ultimately that was a good thing.

… No matter how wrong it made her feel.

**GAMMA**

It was now the next day, late into the afternoon. Oskar was back at Rarity's boutique waiting for said unicorn to attend to her as she was currently busy attending to the other mares… between randomly bursting into bouts _singing_.

'_This crap again?' _Oskar sighed aloud. _'… kinda impressive though, most people need special equipment to get their voice to sound that way. I wonder why the others haven't noticed Rarity's feelings on the situation by now? The lyrics she's singing aren't exactly subtle. Also… WHERE THE HELL IS THAT __**CHORUS**__ COMING FROM?!' The false unicorn glared as she looked this way and that for the origin of the "chorus", Navi was on her ear, wearing the designer glasses and beret combo from yesterday and humming a tune._

After another bout of singing Rarity finally walked over to Oskar, who was looking rather irritated as she twitched her ears, she thought she could just make out guitar strings on the edge of her hearing yet wasn't able to decide if she was actually hearing anything.

"… How would you like your dress to look Emerald?" Rarity asked tiredly, looking even more frazzled then she did the day before; her mane even seemed to have dulled in color.

"I'm fine with whatever you think is good for me." Oskar answered absently as she swivelled her ears this way and that, trying to clearly make out the noise on the edge of her hearing.

"Really?" The unicorn replied in surprise.

Putting off trying to find the noise Oskar gave the unicorn her full attention.

"Yes Rarity." Oskar said with a nod. "I tru- I trust… you… I trust you to know what's better for me. You're the fashion expert after all."

"_Really_." Rarity repeated, this time in incredulity.

"I'm… I'm sorry Rarity." The Evolved said uncomfortably. "I really do trust you to know what's best. It's just that I… I haven't told anypony I trusted them in in a long time. In fact I think this is the first time in years I actually said that to anypony."

The incredulity in Rarity's expression immediately faded away, replaced with a touched smile. She stepped closer to Oskar and wrapped her forelegs around the virus' neck in a tight hug. After a moment she let and backed up before speaking.

"Thank you darling, thank you so much." Rarity stated happily as her mane somehow regained some of its former luster. "This will be so much easier without you nitpicking details and leaving total creative freedom to me."

"Like I said, you're the expert." Oskar replied with a shrug before asking. "Did you get past your creative block yet?"

"As a matter of fact I have!" The unicorn declared. "I got the idea just before going to bed yesterday. You see there was this fantasy book sitting on my bedside table and… well I want it to be a surprise actually. I _was_ going to show it to you but since you're placing your trust in me I'm going to keep it for myself until it's finished."

"Well if you need me for anything I'll be in your kitchen." Oskar said before turning around to head for the door.

"Yes just make yourself at home!" Rarity called after the virus. "I'll call for you if I need to take your measurements again."

"No problem Rarity." The Evolved replied as she left the room for the kitchen with an eager little bug bouncing on her ear. "Nothing for you Navi! I already fed you this morning!"

Navi then became a sad parasprite.

**DELTA**

It was several hours later, late into the afternoon by the time Rarity had finished making the dresses… and _singing_. And what a sight they were…

'_Dear god they're ugly…' _Oskar thought, barely able to keep herself from laughing out loud at the dresses, an effort made even more difficult when Navi stuck out her tongue in revulsion and Opalescence started hissing at the dresses. _'And they actually think these look good?'_

The Evolved looked over to the other mares and indeed, they looked absolutely ecstatic over their dresses. Shaking her head Oskar looked back at the dresses.

Fluttershy's dress appeared to be some florae patterned blanket rather then something you'd wear. The collar was made up of large mismatching feathers and her hat was a false bird's nest full of eggs with some flowers sticking out. Her shoes also seemed to be made of fresh moss too. Overall Oskar thought the dress looked something an old _really_ out of touch woman would wear.

Rainbow Dash's dress looked like some sort of cosplay costume for some fantasy game rather than an actual dress. All the metal only worked to make it seem like she was wearing gaudy ornamental armor rather than an outfit meant for a formal event.

Applejack's _formal _dress wasn't anywhere near formal. It appeared the mare in question had forgotten that she wasn't supposed to be out in the fields doing hard work and getting dirty when she had Rarity make the dress. Indeed the dress was very obviously practical wear for hard work rather than formal attire. So not actually very ugly when considering what she would normally be wearing the outfit for but when considering what she _was _going to be wearing it for… it was hideous.

Twilight's dress only showed just how out of touch with the world she was at times. Her constellation accurate dress would probably be admired… if she was attending some sort of astronomy based comic-con. It was quite a laughable piece of work otherwise.

And finally Pinkie's dress, it was actually not that bad if Oskar could be honest with herself… not that bad if the mare intended to go to the Gala to be the entertainment that is. The Evolved actually considered telling Pinkie to keep the dress for whenever she had a party and wanted to look like a proper clown while making people laugh.

Barely able to keep herself from snorting aloud Oskar turned her attention to the sixth dummy that was covered by a white cloth. Rarity had actually finished the virus' dress first despite starting work on it last. The fact Oskar fully trusted Rarity's expertise and let her have full creative freedom probably helped speed things up a lot, the other's constant nitpicking was probably responsible for forcing Rarity to start over at _least_ six times on each individual dress. Oskar had also been in the kitchen emptying the fridge when Rarity had finished the dress and decided to make its appearance a surprise.

"Well… let's reveal the masterpiece shall we?" Rarity stated as she stepped beside the covered dress, her nervousness returning tenfold as she wondered what "Emerald's" reaction would be.

"You know what I think?" Dash muttered, leaning close to Oskar. "You should have told her what you wanted."

"Hush." Oskar stated, raising a hoof.

"Fine, be that way." Dash replied with a shrug. "Don't be surprised at how uncool it's going to be though."

'_Cool… __**right**__.'_ Oskar thought sardonically as she glanced over to Dash's suit of armor.

"Here goes…" Rarity said as she hesitantly began to pull off the cloth.

Suddenly the door opened.

"You are never going to believe this!" Spike panted from the open door. "Have you heard of Hoity Toity?"

"The bigwig fashion hotshot in Canterlot?" Twilight asked.

"Uh huh! He heard about your fashion show!" The baby dragon said to Rarity. "Well… maybe I happened to have mentioned it to him…"

"He's coming here, from Canterlot!" Spike continued. "To see your work Rarity!"

"Whoa nelly!" Applejack exclaimed before looking at the unicorn in question. "You could sell a ton of dresses to this guy! Your business will be booming!"

Oskar frowned as she took in the expression on Rarity's face as the others proceeded to pour accolades on her. Her smile was very obviously fake and the borderline panic in her eyes was clear to anyone that bothered to look. The Evolved looked up when she heard a worried trill emit from just above her ear.

"I'm fine Navi." Oskar reassured the insect who was somehow able to sense her distress. "It's just… well I'm fine, don't you worry."

Navi seemed to be unconvinced however as she hopped down from Oskar's ear onto the top of her head. Burying herself into the Evolved's mane Navi began to release soft soothing little buzzing noises, causing a small smile to slowly appear on Oskar's face.

"We better get ready!" Twilight declared loudly, breaking into Oskar's little moment with her pet. "Hoity Toity will be here tomorrow night. Good thing I've already prepared a construction schedule for the fashion show."

With that the other mares and Spike began to leave, the violet unicorn being the last out the door.

"Are you coming Emerald?" Twilight asked as she stuck her head in the doorway.

"You and the girls go on ahead." Oskar replied absently. "I've… got something to do first."

"Okay, just head for the park later, that's where we'll be setting up." Twilight said before closing the door.

"Rarity?" Oskar said hesitantly as she approached the unicorn. "Are you okay?"

"… No…" Rarity said in a choked whisper, not even bothering to hide her distress anymore.

"Look I'm sure everything will be alright." Oskar said in hollow reassurance. "I mean they like their dresses right? Maybe… maybe Hoity Toity will like them too?"

"Yes… yes I'm sure everything will be alright." Rarity said with a nod as she tried to force herself to believe Oskar. "My friends like their dresses and Hoity To- Hoit- Ho-"

"AHHHH!" Rarity cried out in despair, suddenly throwing her forelegs around Oskar's neck and crying into her shoulder. "I'm going to be **RUINED!** I'll lose my business! I'll be forced to beg on the streets for bits! I'll never be able to show my face again! I'll- I'll- I'll- AHHHHH!"

Oskar for her part awkwardly rubbed her hoof on Rarity's head in a soothing gesture as said unicorn went into hysterics. For a long moment the virus was filled with a near overpowering desire to immediately walk out the door and catch the others so she could talk to them. And once more Oskar quickly shoved the desire down, metaphorically burying as it deeply as she could.

'_This is what I wanted…' _The Cadre Evolved thought as she continued to try to comfort Rarity. _'No matter what… I must do this.'_

But no matter what she told herself the sure sense of wrongness never faded.

**EPSILON**

The Evolved was now in the dressing room of the backstage located just before the catwalk and she was currently staring into a mirror. It was one of those mirrors you usually see backstage that was completely lined with light bulbs. On the little table top before her was a vast array of hair care products and many kinds of makeup. Navi was currently using a large powder puff applicator as bed to nap on. Her current outfit was a pair of black thick rimmed glasses with a gray fedora and a black designer scarf.

Oskar looked away from her mirror to see Twilight and the others all at mirrors like her own and being attended to by Rarity, who was doing everything in her power to make sure they were as presentable as possible with makeup and hair products. A near insurmountable task considering the horrible dresses the others were wearing.

It seemed the others still thought the world of their dresses as they were all excited to be solemn faced models and strut out onto the catwalk to show off, Rarity knew was would happen if the others went out and was deeply dreading it as her ever more flaying nerves displayed.

Oskar simply sighed and turned back to her mirror. Her only memories of pony life were those from Steven, Gilda and Silver Light, the first two weren't ponies and the last one was a male so she couldn't make herself useful and fix herself up with the products on the table top before her. Out of the corner of her eye the virus spied the concealed from of the dummy wearing her dress. Yesterday wasn't the best time to get to see it so she still didn't know what it looked like, only that Rarity got the inspiration for the look form the cover art of a fantasy book.

Finally the ever more frazzled looking Rarity walked over to Oskar after doing all she could for the others.

"Well… it's the moment we've been waiting for…" Rarity said tiredly as walked up to the covered dummy. "I… I hope it's to your taste Emerald."

"Taste only matters if it's good." Oskar simply replied. "What I think hardly matters if I don't have a good sense of what is tacky and what isn't. Like I said, I trust you to know what works best for me Rarity."

"If you say so… here goes." Rarity said uncertainly before reaching to the cloth on the dummy. Pausing a long moment the unicorn then pulled it off in one quick movement. She quickly turned her attention back to Oskar, almost desperately searching for approval in the other unicorn's expression.

"Wow…" Oskar hardly needed to fake her reaction to the outfit before her.

The color dark red dominated the entire outfit. The skirt was made with velvet, like most of the dress, and was covered in subtle rose patterns with pure white lace lining the bottom. The bodice had a high collar that was also lined with lace but seemed to be reinforced with something firm that gave the illusion of it being some sort of fashionable cuirass. On the head was a silver engraved circlet that had a large emerald socketed in the center with matching pairs of silvery shoes. Overall it looked like something a noble girl would wear to court yet relay on should she end up in a fight.

"Wow…" Oskar simply repeated as she circled the dress, examining as much of it as she could. "This… this is for me?!"

"You like it?" Rarity said with a wide hopeful smile.

"I absolutely adore it!" Oskar stated as she reached out to feel the material with her hoof. "You said you got idea for the dress design from the cover of a fantasy book right?"

"Yes." Rarity answered. "It was a book about a young princess who is being tutored to one day rule the nation when her parents retire. She finds the lessons to be utterly boring and longs for adventure… well long story short she eventually gets her wish but in all her travels she would never wear anything other than clothes that would clearly show her station as a noble, even when it came to armor."

"That is where I got the idea for your dress." The glamorous unicorn continued. "I needed something strong yet obviously feminine for you to wear, what better than a dress that looks like it could be worn to court and relied upon in a fight? I also added in a few subtle touches, to allude to your fragile sensitive side…"

"My fragile sensitive side?" Oskar questioned with a raised brow.

"Well yes…" Rarity said a little sheepishly. "I don't really know to clearly explain but… when I look you in the eye I can see this uncertainty there… almost like, like no matter where you step, whether it be the hardest wood or the most solid rock, you are unsure of your footing."

"Oh really?" Oskar said with a slightly surprised expression.

Oskar was confused, not with Rarity but with herself. She should be finding the fact that Rarity had such deep insight into her alarming, yet the most she was feeling was annoyance tempered with an odd warm sensation. It was… almost like she was fine with Rarity capable of reading her like that. Did that mean she really did trust Rarity? And not just in matters of fashion?

"Just don't go around telling everypony that." Oskar said jokingly with a mock serious expression. "I have a reputation to uphold you know!"

"My lips are sealed." Rarity smiled happily as she mimed a zipping motion across her mouth.

"Well as much as I would like to stand around and admire my work all night we do have a schedule to keep." The unicorn continued, nodding at the dress. "Shall I assist you in putting on the dress?"

"Err… yes please…" Oskar said sheepishly, as she barely knew where to start.

Barely three minutes later and Oskar was in her dress and Rarity was giving one final look over to make sure it was fitting properly. The Evolved had no idea how she had done it and made it look so easy, but she was sure that if she had tried to put it on alone she would still be fumbling with the skirt.

"There we go, al fastened and buckled in!" Rarity declared as she took a step back to properly examine Oskar. "Oh my now that is a wonderful look for you so regal!"

"So I wear it well?" The virus asked with a smile.

"Oh yes most definitely darling! But… I just wish that…" The unicorn began happily before suddenly turning morose and looking towards where the others were still getting ready. "… Perhaps a bit more makeup is in order."

Then she left, leaving Oskar alone in her dress.

The Evolved sighed as she spied the unicorn trying her best to make her friends presentable for a crowd and judging gaze of a fashion critic. She turned back to her mirror and took in her reflection.

'_Wow… Rarity was right this definitely gives me a regal look, it's so comfy too.' _Oskar thought as she took up a pose and mimed an imperious expression. _'Heh look at me, admiring how I look in a dress. A few years ago I would have found wearing one mortifying beyond belief but now… it just goes to show what you're willing to get used to when your life is on the line, it helps that I have a few female memories of enjoying wearing nice dresses too. Do I have a gender identity anymore? Every other Evolved had one… but I was willing to wear different forms for long periods of time and I often took in memories to make my acting perfect. Oh well… as a virus I'm genderless… as a virus I'm not considered a living thing either...'_

"Emerald it's nearly time!" Rarity called out as the Evolved sighed gloomily. "Could you come over here please?"

Putting on a "happy mask" Oskar turned around and headed towards Rarity, who was standing by the dressing room door that the others had already went through. Halfway there she came to a stop and glanced back at the tabletop where Navi was still napping. After a moment she shrugged and let the parasprite sleep and continued on. As the virus approached she noticed that whatever sense of calm Rarity had gained from her positive reaction towards the dress had completely disappeared, now replaced by great uncertainty and nervousness.

"Are you okay Rarity?" Oskar asked in concern, unknowingly dropping her "mask".

"Me?! Why I'm fine! Everything is fine! It's all going to be alright!" Rarity said in a strained voice, forcing out a giggle at the end that was probably meant to be reassuring rather than disturbing.

"I… okay if you say so Rarity." Oskar said, at first wanting to object but had quickly forced it down and continued on through the door.

The Evolved entered the backstage of the catwalk, the sight of the other mares taking up poses just before the curtain meeting her eyes, Opal was also there and was making disgusted expression at the five. It was also rather dark and as a consequence the others couldn't really make out any great details save that "Emerald" had arrived and was wearing some sort of dress, Oskar however had night vision better than any owl and was perfectly fine.

Rarity walked over to the curtain and stuck her head out just as Opal walked over and did the same. Suddenly Oskar heard an annoyed stream of trilling emit from just above her.

Looking up the virus made out Navi hovering just above her with an angry pout on her face.

"Sorry Navi." Oskar said softly to the little insect. "Didn't mean to forget you, you just looked so comfortable sleeping there."

Giving an annoyed little buzzing sound Navi made to nest in Oskar's mane again only to be surrounded by a magical pink aura.

"I don't think Rarity would want me to bring you along on the catwalk Navi." The Evolved stated apologetically as Navi puffed up her checks angrily and flew off into the dark towards the curtain.

Finally Rarity stepped away from the curtain, looking worse for wear for some reason and began walking towards Oskar. The sound of music began to play as she came to a stop before the fake unicorn.

"Alright Emerald it's almost time, I need you to get in place with the rest of them!" Rarity told her in a desperate whisper.

Oskar was about to do as told when an idea occurred to her; obviously she was Rarity's only hope of salvaging _anything_ out of this. After all her dress was the only one that was designed by her and the rest was just plain awful. If Hoity Toity saw only the ones her friends made her make then his no doubt scathing criticism would pretty much be the death knell of any dreams Rarity had in the fashion industry. If that happened no doubt be a great deal of tension would be created between Rarity and her friends, possibly enough to end their friendship altogether, something that would ultimately cripple the Elements of Harmony and render them inert without unified bearers.

The course of action was clear to Oskar…

"Rarity I… I c-can't go out there!" The Evolved protested weakly, turmoil playing across her features.

So why was it so hard?

"But why not?!" Rarity whispered shrilly, throwing a glance at her other friends, worried that they would hear. She need not have bothered though as the five of them were all excited and focused on their walk out onto the catwalk.

"R-rarity… Look at them!" Oskar said pointing the other mares with a slightly shaking hoof. "I c-can't go there with them! I'll… I'll be a laughing stock if I do…"

Rarity turned her head towards the others, her mouth opening as she was about to beg and plead with Oskar, anything to try to make the other unicorn go out onto the catwalk so she could at least save her livelihood. The words never left her lips though as she took in the sight of the five mares wearing their ridiculous dresses. After a moment Rarity turned her head away and looked down at the floor with the most downtrodden expression in the world. She looked back up to give the virus a heartbreakingly sad smile.

"It's okay Emerald… you don't have to go out there…" Rarity said. She would have very much wanted to just cajole "Emerald" into doing it anyway but it just wasn't in her nature. And judging by the way the normally confident unicorn's voice was quavering Emerald was not only completely against it but she was panicking at it. In the end Rarity just didn't want another pony to suffer in any way for her. "I… I thank you though for letting me at least design a dress that best suited you… I fear it may be my last however…"

At that moment Oskar felt very much like an ice cold dagger was being buried into her heart and made to speak again when the curtains lifted.

"Oh no…" Rarity whimpered, burying her face in her hooves.

As the lights shined on the five mares the excited whispers from the crowd died almost immediately, replaced instead by silence and a few utterly shocked gasps.

Twilight and the others took their cue and walked forward onto the catwalk, doing a wonderful first time on the job as models by keeping a serious expression on their faces. Too bad it was ruined by what they were wearing.

Oskar stepped forward and looked out. Nearly everyone in the audience was absolutely dumbfounded and gaping at what Twilight and her friends were wearing, the few that weren't were the ones just barely keeping in their snickers. But one face attracted her attention, Hoity Toity. He was easy to spot since he took a seat right in front of the catwalk, which made seeing the expression on his face all too easy. The famous fashion critic had his face scrunched up, like he suddenly found a pile of very smelly trash in front of his face.

Oskar at this point felt something snap in her and she suddenly came to a decision.

"I can't do this anymore!" Oskar said loudly and, to the shock of Rarity, angrily before stormed out onto the catwalk.

The disaster out on the catwalk was just getting to the point that the five mares were just beginning to think something was wrong when Oskar suddenly appeared. The entire crowd, which was mere moments away from bursting into laughter, suddenly kept their silence at the sight of the fake unicorn.

Oskar underestimated just how regal her dress made her look. Despite most of the ponies knowing what she looked like they still mistook her in that moment for some foreign noble beauty, a very _angry _one. Indeed a good many had quickly come to the conclusion that the sure ugliness of the dresses on the catwalk had insulted a visiting royal, and that said royal was about to do something about it.

The effect of Oskar's angry approach was not just limited to the ponies in the crowd either; the mare on stage also could only stare wide eyed at their friend. They had seen the dress before sure, but they had never seen it while it was worn. All five of them were shocked at how well the dress' style fitted "Emerald", able to see very clearly how the dress accentuated her "natural" beauty yet made pains to show that there was a great strength there as well.

As the virus marched down the catwalk three things came to mind, the three things that she was angry about in orders of magnitude. She was angry at Rarity for being so stupidly selfless that she wouldn't protest her friends practically spitting on her hard work and end the fashion show before it ruined her career. She was even angrier at the five mares that were supposed to be Rarity's friends yet had the gall to criticize a _gift _and jeopardize her livelihood, though unknowingly as the case may be. And finally Oskar was most angry at _herself_. Angry for not speaking up for Rarity when she needed it, angry for sitting by as she was being taken advantage of, angry for trying to take advantage of her as well, so very angry for having the gall to pretend to be her friend while hoping she was ruined by what would happen to her.

The Evolved came to a stop before the five, the air silent save for the sound of Oskar's breathing as she flared her nostrils.

"I can't believe you five!" Oskar began.

'… _I can't believe myself…'_

"You're all supposed to be her friends!"

'… _I was supposed to be her friend too… I was the only one she trusted to talk to about this, I was her shoulder to cry on… and I still wanted to stab her in the back…'_

"Instead you all took advantage of her and her kindness!" Oskar shouted.

'… _I've been doing that from day one…'_

"W-what are ya talking about?" Applejack asked.

"Those horrible dresses you all forced her to make!" The virus answered and when she saw Dash about to vehemently protest she quickly interrupted. "But by all means, if you don't trust my word the look at them!" She finished, pointing at the awkward looking crowd around them.

"Do they honestly look like they think what you are wearing is beautiful?!" Oskar asked and continued when she didn't get an answer from the increasing shamefaced looking mares. "None of you know a thing about fashion! NONE! And don't you of all ponies speak up Fluttershy!" The Evolved snapped when the pegasus was about to add something. "Chain and cross stiches are just a fraction of a whole! You are not a fashion expert Just because you know a lot about thread work! I can't believe any of you thought you knew better than Rarity about fashion of all things!"

Once again silence settled into the air, this time filled only with the sound of Oskar's panting. The Evolved suddenly felt rather tired, the energy in her draining away by the moment. Suddenly the silence was broken by the sound of a pair of hooves clopping. Oskar blinked and forced down the feeling of encroaching exhaustion as she looked for the source.

It was Hoity Toity, applauding the prompt to drama he had just witnessed.

"Good show my dear, good show." The fashion critic stated as he got up from the pillow he sat on. "I couldn't put it better myself."

The gray stallion strutted around the catwalk, ponies making way for him as he moved passed them, to come to a stop at a portion of the catwalk nearest the Evolved.

"And may I ask the name of the vision of beauty before me?" Hoity asked charmingly.

"Uh… I… my name is Emerald Gleaner." Oskar said, taken aback. "I'm one of Rarity's models… I also happen to be the only one wearing one of her designs, the other dresses being… commissioned to look the way they are."

"Hmmm, indeed." Hoity merely replied as he pulled down his shades to give Oskar an appreciative look over.

After a long moment, of which Oskar found to be very awkward, Hoity Toity reached within his vest and pulled out a card. He briefly scribbled something on it with a pen before holding it out to Oskar.

"Tell you what my dear…" Hoity began as the Evolved magically took a hold of his card. "If Rarity's other designs are as magnificent as the _specimen _before me I'll gladly head over sometime and personally examine them, I also sincerely hope you'll be modeling them."

"Don't be a stranger my dear, ciao!" And with that Hoity Toity made his exit, missing the heated glares being shot at him from the pony who had given him his seat.

Oskar stared off at the retreating form of Hoity Toity for a moment before looking down at the card he had given her. It appeared to be a simple business card which had Hoity's name and his title as a popular fashion critic. The only thing off about it was the fact the address was crossed off and a different one was written on, which happened to be underlined… three times.

The Cadre Evolved blushed in embarrassment; even as obvious as she was to male attraction Oskar could clearly see that Hoity Toity was attracted to her.

Once again silence reigned but this time there really was not sound in the air. After a moment Oskar put the card away and turned towards the others. Suddenly the oncoming exhaustion had forced herself to ignore was upon her and the Evolved was quick to realize that it wasn't physical exhaustion, no it was emotional.

"I-I'm… I'm an idiot." Oskar stated, her face displaying the turmoil she had just gone through for all to see before she quickly turned around and walked away.

"Emerald wait!" Oskar heard a voice call her but she ignored it and continued forward, a profound numbness filling her core.

"Emerald I-" Rarity began as the virus re-entered the backstage.

"Later." Oskar stated dully as she strode forward, ignoring even the sound of worried trilling just above her ear.

A few minutes later Oskar was outside alone in the park save for Navi, sitting on a bench and looking at the moon while still wearing her dress.

"I'm fine Navi." Oskar replied after getting a questioning trill from the insect.

Navi buzzed angrily.

"Yeah… you're right, I'm not fine." The Evolved admitted immediately, causing her pet to bury itself into her mane and trill comfortingly.

'_What was the plan again?' _Oskar asked herself sardonically. _'Oh yes, cause a split between Rarity and her friends. You caused a split alright… but instead of Rarity it was you.'_

'_I probably caused irreparable damages between me and the others.' _Oskar thought with a sigh. _'The plan for all this was to weaken them so they wouldn't be a threat to me, so that I wouldn't have to one day face the Elements of Harmony. And what happened instead? I decide to risk my own success to help one of them, why? It doesn't matter anymore… months of work… all wasted.'_

"Emerald?" Twilight said softly.

'_Huh?'_

Oskar turned her head to see Twilight and the other five of the Mane Six gathered a short distance away, Twilight and her friends also seemed to have taken their dresses off. And contrary to her beliefs not one of them looked angry with her.

"G-girls…" Oskar began wide-eyed. "I apologize for what I did back there; I had no right to-"

"It's okay Emerald." Twilight interrupted gently. "You were right and had all the right in the world to say those words. We were wrong to be so critical of Rarity's gifts to us and get here make entirely new ones."

"R-really?" Oskar said disbelievingly and got nods from all of them. "Umm… Rarity I don't know if they told you this but Hoity Toity will come over at another time to personally examine the dresses you originally designed."

"You don't have to worry Emerald darling." Rarity replied with a smile. "Twilight told me that, it's merely an hour's worth of thread work and I'll be finished those dresses."

"Rarity…" Oskar said softly. "I'd like to apologize to you."

"What?" The unicorn asked in confusion.

"I… I saw what was happening and I just decided to sit back and not say anything." The virus said contritely. "I could have spoken up and said something, could have stopped this all from happening. Instead I kept quiet and your business as well as your reputation as a talented dress maker was nearly ruined."

"Yeah, only now did I realise what was at stake." Twilight stated with a wince that was mirrored by the others. "Rarity can you ever forgive us?"

"It's alright dears." Rarity said, giving all the mares a warm smile. "It all work out in the end did it not?"

"Mighty generous of ya Rarity." Applejack said. "Ah thank ya kindly."

"Still…" Oskar muttered. "It was all rather close… I should have said something."

"Emerald…" Twilight began as she took a seat next to the other unicorn on the bench. "You shouldn't have felt you needed to speak up in the first place. You do not need to feel that you are at fault." Twilight finished by giving Oskar a hug.

Slowly the Evolved's sad frown curved upwards into a small smile as she looked at Twilight and to the rest of the Mane Six. Suddenly she remembered something.

"Hey Applejack."

"Yes sugercube?"

"That uh… _dress_ you made Rarity make?" Oskar began. "While it's not at all good for something like the Grand Galloping Gala it's still made of some very strong materials, it'll probably make some pretty good work clothes… I would get rid of that hat though; your Stetson fits you far better than that _thing_."

"Eh heh… sure thing Emerald." The cowpony replied sheepishly.

"Pinkie Pie I would suggest you keep your dress too." The virus said to the party pony.

"Oh really, why?" Pinkie asked. "Thought you said it was ugly?"

"It is _very_ ugly." Oskar stated with a nod. "But only for its intended task. I personally think it'll work better as a clown outfit to wear when you're entertaining ponies at parties."

Everyone laughed at that, it wasn't that the statement was very funny it was just out of pure happiness at a serious moment being passed. Oskar looked around her at the laughing mares and one pink one sticking her tongue out with a small smile. The Evolved seemed to bask in the laughter around before finally joining in with her own laughter, her genuine laughter.

**ZETA**

Oskar skipped down an empty street in Ponyville. It looked fairly normal save that if you looked you would easily see little clouds of dust being kicked up and rather loud thuds from her steps. When the Evolved got to the end of the street she stopped and looked back the way she came and gave an approving smile.

'_Getting lighter!' _Oskar thought happily. _'I can only imagine how far I would be able to glide now. Too bad I can't experiment with all that security surrounding Everfree.'_

It had been a few days since the fiasco that was the fashion show. Rarity had, with help from Fluttershy, quickly finished up the dresses she had originally designed in time for Hoity Toity to see them the very next day. Once again the six ponies wore their dresses but this time their sole one stallion audience was utterly thrilled with the outfits, even more so when Oskar came out with her own regal attire.

It was now noon and Oskar had decided to take a walk and think about things.

'_But… I don't really need to experiment do I?' _The Evolved asked herself. _'The whole reason for getting stronger, for gaining more and more power was so I would be ready to face any and all threats to me. But I risked all that preparation and efforts to manipulate things to my advantage for Rarity, do I know why?'_ The virus thought intently for several long moments before nodding when she came to a single conclusion. _'I have grown to like and trust her that is why. I started my plans with the intention to do her harm, but in the end I ended up liking her so much that the very idea of hurting her is painful… it's been so long since I've had an actual friend.'_

'_And what about Twilight?'_ Oskar mused curiously as she made way down a random street._ 'Do I care about her too? Do I consider her a friend too? Yes… I think I do. I must admit it to myself at least, all the recent times I hoped for Twilight to be okay when she did something dangerous has been more and more for something other than selfish reasons.'_

'_Yes… I think I'll put my plans on indefinite hold for now.' _Oskar thought with a small unsure smile. _'But I'll still work towards getting stronger, Ponyville is fairly safe but there are still rather powerful creatures wandering around. And as long as I lay low and do nothing conspicuous those guards around Everfree have no chance of finding me.'_

As Oskar crossed a street intersection she spotted a crowd of ponies out of the corner of her eye. curiosity peaked the Blacklight being walked towards the crowd.

As the Evolved made her way into the crowd to the front Oskar noticed that everyone seemed to be surrounding the mouth of an alley way. When she arrived at the front of the crown Oskar came to a interesting sight.

It was a griffin. A griffin wearing a hooded green cloak and had chestnut brown feathers specked with yellow spots, his down like fur seemed to be an orange brown.

The hooded griffin was very pointedly ignoring the gawking and pointing ponies near him to focus all his attention on a spot on the ground near a wall. He scratched at the ground, bringing up bits of dirt to study and smell.

Suddenly Oskar remembered that the very spot the griffin was studying happened to be one of the few she used to change into an animal form before making for Everfree. The Evolved fought to keep her expression that of curious staring like the others around her as her survival instincts flared up in alarm.

Carefully Oskar mimed growing bored and wandering away but inwardly she was feeling rather troubled.

'_Okay calm down.' _The virus told herself_. 'That might not mean anything, the spot that griffin is looking at could just be a coincidence… okay I'm not convincing anyone let alone myself. What the hell is he doing there?! Is he tracking me? Do his superiors know about me? Do they have a plan and are just setting the perimeters? I know nothing… but he knows… I NEED to know what he knows!'_

With that the Evolved made way for a quiet spot as quickly yet as discreetly as possible.

A few short minutes later and Oskar was in his default form on the border of Everfree, he currently didn't need to worry about any Royal Guard patrols as the next border patrol was half an hour away at the very least.

Going to the Everfee border was a bit of a gamble on Oskar's part. There was no way he could know if the griffin in town was going to go to Everfree or even be close enough to the ground for him to catch. However Oskar also had considered a few things he knew about the griffins here in Equestria. Most of the sightings Oskar had of the griffins was over Everfree, so that meant they had to have a base of operations either very near or in Everfree. Which meant that if the griffin in town flew somewhere else Oskar would only need to wait for him to come back, and in the event that the griffin was too high for Oskar to catch that meant the Evolved would simply need to tack him to his base.

A few more minutes and Oskar spotted the griffin flying away into the air above the town and immediately fly towards Everfree, and unless he suddenly decided to gain altitude he would definitnly be in reach of the Evolved.

As the cloaked griffin approached Oskar shifted an arm into a whipfist and focused on him. As he flew into grabbing distance Oskar sent out a viral sonar which caused the griffin to lash yellow to the virus' eyes and ultimately seal his fate.

The bucket hatted Evolved quickly tensed up his whipfist before shooting off the harpoon. The harpoon crossed the distance between Oskar and the griffin in a fraction of a second. The hooded griffin was able to release a short shout before the harpoon pierced through his chest, his heart, and out through his spine.

Oskar quickly reeled his harpoon in and smashed the body into himself, quickly absorbing it. Grasping his head Oskar closed his eyes and began taking in the memories.

A name briefly flashed through his mind, Morgoth Dak. Oskar quickly ignored that and began searching for recent memories. Images and sounds flashed though the Evolved's mind, patrol routes, orders, reports, discussions of tracking techniques, gathering evidence, a vague idea of what they were tracking.

Several long moments followed, the air filled with Oskar's light muttering. Finally his eyes opened, revealing his panic before his expression cleared and his gaze become totally neutral.

'_I'm being tracked.'_ The Evolved's thought. _'This griffin, this Prince Bergren has come to hunt down his daughter. But after his hunters followed her trail to the cave she was in he changed his mission from that of recovery to vengeance. They only have guesses but those "Rangers" of his are almost scarily competent, they've been able to figure out I'm some sort of shape shifter and that I somehow consume those I hunt in order to become them. They've been managing to shrink their search areas by looking for my deep foot prints, my own weight betrayed me. By now they've ascertained that I'm in Ponyville from the fresh tracks they find there. The only reason they haven't tracked me to Twilight's library is because they're trying to keep a low profile from the ponies and the hoof prints get quickly worn away on the roads. But they are going to abandon that plan soon enough, they'll soon bring in to ponies to not only question but inform of the danger. Using these questioning sessions they'll build a profile of ponies that live in Ponyville and display suspicious behavior, they'll also ask about ponies who've moved in, in the last few months. There are only two people that have moved to Ponyville in that time, me and Zecora. I have to act NOW.'_

Quickly shifting into the form of a rabbit Oskar bounded towards the center of the griffin operations.

'_I need to see their basecamp for myself before I plan anything.' _The Evolved thought. _'I'd rather now depend on second hand information.'_

**ETA**

'_Let's see here…'_ Oskar pondered as he peeked out of a bush in his rabbit form. _' The area is divided into nine sectors, Sentries with overlapping fields of vision, tight patrol patterns all in shouting distance of one other one at all times, strategically placed lanterns, at least three air patrols over each sector, the cave HQ in the central sector is protected by a small wooden heavily manned castle that takes advantage of the fact the entire garrison can fly, The forest around the castle has also been cleared away to about twenty metres, four squads of griffins are constantly patrolling that perimeter and they are always in view of the castle as well as another squad, the sky over the central sector is also fairly crowded with air units… this should be easy enough.' _With that Oskar ducked deeper into the bush and slowly made his way back to Ponyville. _'The memories from that griffin I consumed say Prince Bergren brought with him about two hundred and eighty Anvil Knights as well as twenty of his clan's finest Rangers, seems fairly accurate from what I've seen. Should I delve deeper into Gilda's and Morgoth's memories? Hmm… no, I'm fairly certain I've gotten everything I need. Right I'll just head back to Twilight's home and form a plan of attack on this base; it'll be just like old times.'_

As the Evolved reached the perimeter of the outer sectors he suddenly seethed in anger from something he realized.

'_This is entirely my fault…' _Oskar seethed. _'I should have been taking tabs of those units guarding Everfree, gathering intel! Instead I was busy with town festivals and participating in games! I would have known about this situation __**long**__ before it became a problem! I… I fooled myself into thinking that I of all people could actually settle down, to live in peace. Well no more! After this is over I'll get my magic squared away and I'll immediately get to work on my forth objective. But now I need to focus…'_

'_It'll not take a group as professional as them long to be put into high alert from a missing Ranger.' _The virus. _'I NEED to attack tomorrow night. There will be definite consequences to killing a high ranking foreign noble and his entire company of elite soldiers but the consequences for letting him be will be far higher for me. Right let's head home, busy day tomorrow.'_

With that Oskar picked up speed a little to head home to work out his battle plan, for next day would seal the fates of many.

**TBC**

AN: This chapter makes me nervous! ^_^" A few things feel iffy to me and I can't help but feel I may have rushed it near the end. Oh well I can only hope that you guys like it! I also managed to make this chapter longer than the last and I definitely thought I wouldn't be able to.


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